Ulster Unionist Party Leader and education spokesperson Jon Burrows MLA has called on the Education Minister to urgently introduce an injury reduction plan for schools, after raising the issue of violence against teachers and classroom assistants in the Assembly this morning.

Speaking in the chamber, Jon Burrows MLA said:

"Violence against teachers and classroom assistants in our schools is described to me by those who work on the front line as a taboo issue, one that nobody wants to talk about, and nobody wants to address. That must change.

"I asked the Education Authority how many teachers were assaulted last year. The figures were 598 teachers and 1,974 classroom assistants. That is two and a half thousand people working in our schools who were subjected to violence or assault in a single year.

"When we talk about violence against women, we rarely speak about what is happening in our schools, yet the vast majority of those being injured and assaulted are female. These are women going to work every day to do their very best for our young people, and they are not getting the support they deserve.

"I want to be clear: not every incident is straightforward. Some involves pupils with additional needs who become dysregulated, and in those cases what is needed is better training and support for staff to manage those situations safely. But there is also an entirely different problem, a culture in some schools of pupils who are simply unruly, abusive, and engaged in deliberate intimidation of teachers and classroom assistants. Those staff need to know they have our full support.

"I am also deeply concerned about the Alliance Party's proposal to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14. In practice, this would make bullying, assault, upskirting and downblousing by any person under 14 effectively legal in Northern Ireland. That would be a deeply damaging outcome and I urge the Assembly to think very carefully before going down that road.

"I have written to the Education Minister previously on the need for a formal injury reduction plan for our schools. Schools must be empowered to deal swiftly with disruptive pupils, not only to protect staff, but to protect the vast majority of well-behaved pupils whose education is being undermined.

"I will also say something others may be reluctant to say: the vast, vast majority of parents are good, responsible people. But there are teachers who face abuse from parents when they attempt to discipline a child, who find that instead of support, they receive hostility. That too must be addressed.

"When I visit schools and am told that a teacher next door has just been concussed, when I speak to teachers with broken ribs and broken bones, I will speak up for them, because too many of them feel they are not being heard. This issue deserves far greater publicity and attention. Our teachers, our pupils, and our parents all deserve schools that are safe for everyone."

Note to editors: See below AQW

AQW 45044/22-27

Mr Jon Burrows

Tabled Date: 28/04/2026

Answered On Date: 07/05/2026

Question:

To ask the Minister of Education to detail the number of (i) teachers; and (ii) classroom assistants, injured in the last 12 months as a result of pupil behaviour, broken down by (a) year group; and (b) gender.

Answer:

My department is not the employers of teachers or classroom assistants. Any injuries, accidents or assaults on school staff are not reported to my department but instead are reported to the Education Authority (EA).

The EA have provided the following statistical information reported to the EA Health and Safety section and recorded under the category “Assault by Pupil”, involving (i) teachers and (ii) classroom assistants within the last 12 months (April 2025 – April 2026).

Teaching Staff 598

Classroom Assistant 1974

Grand Total2472