Balancing safety and inclusion: protections for staff in specialist schools
Employers in specialist schools share the same OHS duty to provide a safe workplace as all employers – but the demands of disability support require them to take extra steps to manage specific risks to staff safety.
Failing to do so may breach their legal duty of care. This is critical, as IEU members in these settings are now facing unprecedented hazards.
All of the following incidents occurred in the first half of this year and led to four IEU members resigning from their roles in the sector:
An LSO was forcibly locked in a room with a student who threated to sexually assault and kill her.
A student who was trying to speak to a member of leadership ripped doors off their hinges, causing a lockdown.
Staff at a specialist school were forced to meet off-site in a petrol station to engage in a re-entry meeting for a young person to come back to school after a violent outburst.
Staff at several schools reported regular lockdowns due to students threatening to harm themselves or others.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) protects students with disabilities from discrimination and requires schools to take active steps to ensure inclusion and support – principles the IEU fully supports.
The DDA entitles students to fair treatment, reasonable adjustments, and protection from discrimination. Schools must strive for accessible and equitable learning environments. Failure to do so may be unlawful.
However, these obligations do not override staff rights to a safe workplace.
IEU members work in specialist schools because they are committed to giving every student full and equal access to education. They understand that challenging behaviours will occur.
But their dedication must be honoured with workplaces where every effort is made to reduce risks.
Reasonable adjustments and the DDA
Under the DDA, “reasonable adjustments” are changes an employer, service provider, or educator must make to allow a person with disability to participate equally. This may include modifying workspaces, adjusting teaching methods, or offering flexible schedules. An adjustment is only considered reasonable if it balances the needs of the person with disability with the impact on others, considering factors such as cost, disruption, and safety.
Failure to make reasonable adjustments may amount to unlawful discrimination. However, the law does not require adjustments that impose unjustifiable hardship.
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 clarify the DDA's application in schools. Some employers misinterpret section 3.4 of the Standards to justify inaction when staff face violence from students with disability, claiming “there’s nothing we can do, or we’ll be sued”.
This is incorrect. Sections 3.4 and 10.3 make it clear: no adjustment is reasonable if it compromises the safety of others.
Staff safety is not negotiable, and the law does not require any IEU member to risk it at work.
State of knowledge
The IEU is too often called in after members are harmed simply because schools failed to pass on known safety information. While a student’s medical records remain confidential, the law requires that any other information relevant to staff safety must be shared. For example, if it is known that a particular student becomes violent when approached in an agitated state, staff must be told in advance ̶ not after someone is injured.
In too many cases, it takes a persistent Health and Safety Representative (HSR) to push for a proper risk assessment before schools act. But sharing essential safety information is in everyone’s best interest, and it’s a legal obligation.
Safeguarding the education of kids with special needs is imperative. Equally important is ensuring that the staff who help them are safe.
