MORE THAN eight out of 10 teachers feel safe where they work, but a significant proportion are afraid of being attacked or having property stolen, a survey has shown.
The study revealed that while most teachers are generally not fearful of assault by pupils or parents, one in five avoided areas such as the playground, corridors and stairwells because they did not feel safe.
About two thirds said they had been verbally or physically assaulted by pupils in the past year and a third had had property stolen.
One in five staff had been verbally or physically assaulted by a parent.
Six per cent had suffered at the hands of an intruder.
More than half of teachers said incidents were not recorded.
Professor Martin Gill, a criminologist based at Perpetuity security consultants at the University of Leicester, compiled the report.
He said: “One of the big issues is the incidents that are not recorded.
Before you can tackle any problems, you need to know what you are dealing with. There’s no use getting a fence if the threat is coming from within the school.”
The survey follows the launch of a new police scheme to help organisations tackle security.
* To join the scheme, go to: www.securedenvironments.com
