Staff attacked at Hamilton public schools more often
Report breaks down different incidents
Student attacks against staff at Hamilton public schools were up in all categories for the 2017-18 year, with the 42 requiring time off from work, up from 19 the year before.
A report presented to trustees at their human resources committee shows the bulk of the lost-time cases were at elementary schools, with educational assistants accounting for 26 of 38 incidents.
Attacks requiring first aid and health care were also up, at 55 and 44 incidents, respectively — up from 33 in each category the year before — and followed a similar pattern as those requiring time off.
The 2,806 incidents without injuries were also about 10 per cent more than the year before and up from 1,615 four years ago.
A pilot program at four schools, including three with autism spectrum disorder classes, is also offering intensive training to staff to help manage behaviours leading to violence.
Matthew Kwan, manager of occupational health and safety, said the board uses the Ministry of Labour, rather than police, definition of violence, which records incidents regardless of whether the student meant to cause harm. “A student with autism doesn’t necessarily realize the attack that they may be having on someone, but would still be categorized as workplace violence if it resulted in any physical injury,” he said.
Kwan said the board records incidents with no injury despite not being required to “because they may indicate a larger pattern of behaviour that needs to be addressed before it escalates.”
Trustee Penny Deathe said it’s hard to assess the numbers because they don’t indicate the degree of harm or if some students committed multiple attacks.
“I see that there’s a couple of strategies, but are there any targets in place to reduce some of this?” she said.
Kwan said it’s challenging to set targets because interventions might correct one form of violent behaviour, only to see it “manifest itself in other ways.”
“We still see that student behaviour is dynamic as well,” he said. “The best we can do, really, is keep attacking the problem to make sure that if we do identify an issue, that we have a plan to try to eliminate that specific behaviour.”