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Security and Violence
NUT HEALTH AND SAFETY BRIEFING
This briefing looks at security of school premises and violence issues, in particular at security arrangements and means of dealing with intruders, and also considers the related issue of pupil behaviour.
Security of School Premises
Considerable attention has been focused in recent years on action to improve school security and reduce the risk of violence to school staff. The DfEE[1] Working Group on school security, established in 1996 following the murder of Philip Lawrence and the Dunblane killings, oversaw the introduction of various initiatives, supported by additional Government funding, to assist schools in reviewing and improving their security arrangements.
Over the years, the Government has published a number of very useful documents on the subject of school security; regrettably however, these appear to be no longer available on the DfE website. In many cases, however, schools and local authorities will continue to retain paper copies of these documents; this briefing therefore continues to make reference to the publications concerned where appropriate.
The Need to Review Security Arrangements
Schools face a dilemma in their security arrangements. On the one hand, they wish to be open and welcoming places for parents, pupils and the local community. On the other hand, staff and pupils must be able to work in and learn in a safe and secure environment.
The legal obligations owed to teachers and pupils are clear. Every employer is required by law to assess the risks to the health and safety of employees and others and to take steps to eliminate or reduce those risks. This applies just as much to risks arising out of poor security arrangements, such as dangers from intruders, as to risks from unsafe premises or equipment.
This means that local authorities and governing bodies are legally bound to examine their security arrangements, take the steps needed to improve security, and keep their arrangements under review. All reviews of school security arrangements should be firmly based upon the principles of risk assessment.
Guidance on Improving Security Arrangements
There are various sources of guidance to schools on improving security arrangements and reducing the risk of violence to staff. In particular, the then DfES published detailed guidance for schools on this area in its guidance document, "Improving Security in Schools". This document described how to assess the risks facing individual schools and the measures to be taken in addressing them and set out advice on the respective roles of local authorities, governors and school managers. It also considered the variety of physical security measures available and advises on assessing and selecting those which are appropriate for the specific school situation. Unfortunately this guidance is no longer available from the DfE, although as previously indicated, many schools and local authorities may still have hard copies.
The document included a useful recommended "risk assessment" checklist for use in conducting school security surveys. This is attached at Appendix 1 to this briefing. This checklist refers in particular to the previous incidence of crime, the environmental and building factors specific to the premises, and the degree and effectiveness of the security measures already employed.
The former Education Sector Advisory Committee to the Health and Safety Commission[2] published guidance on reducing the risk of violence to school staff. This document, "Violence to Staff in the Education Sector”, considers how to draw up a workplace policy in schools to address and minimise the risks of violence to school staff and what such a policy should include. The document was prepared in consultation with the NUT and other organisations, and is available at
http://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/saleproduct.jsf?catalogueCode=9780717612932.
Local Authority and Governing Body Monitoring of School Security
In their annual reports to parents governing bodies must report on measures taken to review and improve school security. Schools should therefore review their security arrangements at least annually. It is advisable that a specific review be carried out against the checklist recommended by the DfE in order to increase the likelihood of the school securing entitlement to funding for additional security measures.
Local authorities and other employers should be pressed to provide governors and school managers with proper guidance, support and training on the area, and operate a monitoring system on school security issues. Many local authorities have drawn up comprehensive initiatives on the issue of school security and all local authorities should be keeping their own approaches under review in the light of developing "best practice" elsewhere.
NUT health & safety advisers or NUT Regional/Wales Offices can provide more information about arrangements in place within local authorities for guidance, support and training to governors and school managers on security issues and for local authority monitoring of security matters. NUT health and safety representatives should ensure that issues of school security are examined and kept under review within their school.
Dealing with Intruders
In 1997 the then DfEE issued comprehensive guidance entitled ‘School Security: Dealing with Trouble Makers’ on dealing with incidents in schools. This guidance sets out the relevant legal background, covering civil and criminal offences and pays particular attention to offences involving weapons or violence. It considers, and advises upon, the issue of cooperation between the police and schools in dealing with incidents and in monitoring school security matters on a routine basis. The document is no longer available on the DfE website but can be found on the DfE’s archived site at
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218194057/http://teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9232.
Who is a Trespasser?
Schools are not public places to which anyone can have access; persons entering without permission are trespassers and a variety of approaches is available to dealing with trespassers under the law. The first thing a school should do is make clear exactly who has authority to be on the premises.
Some people, in particular teachers, pupils and parents, will have “implied” authority to be present if they would normally be allowed access to the premises. There can be limits, however, to their implied authority to be present. For example, there may be limits on the times and places when their presence is authorised. Parents might expect to be allowed on only at the beginning or end of the day, or when otherwise invited.
Other people, including visitors, need specific authority to be present if they are not to be regarded as possible trespassers.
A school policy clearly communicated to pupils and parents can help in ensuring everyone knows who has authority to be present in schools, as can a noticeboard directing all visitors to present themselves at a specified reception point. Anyone can have their authority to be present withdrawn by simply letting them know by letter. Any implied authority of individuals to be present does not extend to circumstances when they are causing a disturbance.
What Powers exist to deal with Trespassers?
Special legal provisions govern steps to be taken against trespassers in schools. Section 547 of the 1996 Education Act provides that trespassers who are making a nuisance or disturbance and refusing to leave school premises are committing a criminal offence. “Nuisance or disturbance” has a wide interpretation and includes, for example, riding motorbikes or exercising animals in such a way as to disturb the normal running of the school. Such trespassers cannot be arrested but they can be removed by a police officer or anyone authorised by the local authority (or governors in foundation and VA schools and academies). They can also be prosecuted and fined up to £500 or, if under 16, their parents can be bound over.
The NUT strongly advises that school staff should not themselves take on responsibility for removing intruders. The recommended course of action is:
· to advise trespassers that they are on the premises without authority and ask them to leave;
· if they ignore the warning, to advise them that the police will be called; and
· to call the police and arrange for a police officer to come and remove them from the premises
(serious incidents should, of course, be reported to the police at once).
The general criminal law applies where other criminal offences are being committed. Anyone committing an arrestable criminal offence, such as threatening behaviour, causing a breach of the peace, assault or committing criminal damage can be arrested and prosecuted.
Finally, the school may take action under civil law. Injunctions can be sought against persistent trespassers and these can, for example, prohibit named individuals from coming onto school grounds or within a certain distance of the school. Anyone causing loss or damage can be sued by the school. In recent years, police and local authorities have used Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOS) (now known as Criminal Behaviour Orders) to exclude particular people from a school or schools where their behaviour is identified as likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
A comprehensive summary of legislation relating to school security can be found at Appendix 2.
Rights of Way through School Grounds
Certain schools have rights of way through their grounds. The law provides, however, that rights of way may in certain circumstances be closed or diverted.
A school’s security risk assessment may identify a security risk posed by the existence of a right of way, particularly if there have been previous incidents. The school’s governing body may therefore determine that it believes that the right of way should be closed or diverted. In practice, courts prefer applications for closure or diversion to be made by the owner of the land; this may be the local authority, the diocese for voluntary aided schools or the foundation for foundation schools. The governing body should therefore seek the support and assistance of the appropriate body in making any such application.
Violence in Schools
In Violence at Work: A Guide for Employers[3] the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines workplace violence as: ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’. The HSE goes on to say:
‘This can include verbal abuse or threats as well as physical attacks. Physical attacks can cause anxiety and distress, and in more serious cases, pain, disability or even death. Serious and persistent verbal abuse may damage worker’s health through anxiety and distress. In addition, worry about violence at work, even in workers who do not directly experience it, can be a source of stress’.
The Scale of the Problem
The table below shows the risk of violence at work for employees in England and Wales, reproduced from the 2009-2011 British Crime Survey. Only the highest risk occupations are shown, and it can clearly be observed that teachers are twice as likely as the average worker to be the victim of an assault at work[4].
Percentages 2009/10 and 2010/11 BCS
Assaults / Threats / All violence at workProtective service occupations (e.g. police) / 7.3 / 1.9 / 8.4
Health and social welfare associate professionals / 1.8 / 2.0 / 3.5
Health professionals / 0.6 / 2.6 / 2.9
Teaching and research professionals / 1.4 / 1.0 / 2.3
Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives / 1.4 / 1.0 / 2.3
All occupations / 0.7 / 0.8 / 1.5
Further data on violence towards teachers
In 2008, researchers at Nottingham University identified teachers, in addition to a handful of other occupational groups, as being ‘particularly at risk’ of occupational violence.[5]
In April 2009 the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, (ATL) released details of a survey of over 1,000 of its members which found that nearly one quarter of them had been on the receiving end of physical violence by a student[6].
A survey for Teacher Support Cymru in 2009 found that two out of five teachers in Wales had been violently attacked by a pupil, and nearly three out of five had had objects hurled at them during lessons[7]. Furthermore, 49 per cent of those surveyed had been threatened with assault.
In 2009, children were suspended from school on more than 80,000 occasions for attacking teachers and classmates, according to official figures[8].
Meanwhile, figures released by the Department for Education for the school year 2009 - 2010 showed that nearly 17,000 pupils were excluded for assaulting an adult at school; and that nearly 900 children were excluded for abuse and assault every day[9].
A 2009 European study demonstrated that the risk of psychological harm to teachers is not confined to the UK. ‘While physical risks are low in the education sector, exposure to psychological risks is high….exposure to threats of physical violence and actual acts of violence from colleagues and non-colleagues is highly prevalent in the education sector’[10].
Violence and Abuse in Schools - The Legal Framework
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health of their employees at work. This includes taking steps to make sure they do not suffer violence, abuse or stress-related illness as a result of their work. This statutory regime supplements the ‘common law’ obligations on employers to provide reasonably safe working environments for their employees. Employers also have a specific duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to undertake risk assessments that seek to identify and eliminate or reduce risks to their employees’ health, safety and welfare.
Appendix 2 to this document contains further information on legal remedies for violence or abuse against members of the school community.
Taking Action on Violence, Abuse and Assaults in Schools
The incidence of violence and assaults on teaching staff - in addition to the stress arising from working in environments where the fear of violence and assaults exists - are both examples of risks to teacher health, safety and welfare which must be assessed and controlled.
Local authorities, governing bodies and all other employers of teachers must:
· consider the risk of violence and assault on members of their workforce;
· consider the risk of stress which arises from working in fear of violence or assault;
· take steps to remove the risk; or
· where removal of the risk is not possible, reduce the risk by any necessary changes in