Teachers reaching 'breaking point' at SEN schools, union says

Special needs teachers are reaching breaking point due to working conditions, including abuse, a teachers' union has said.

The NASUWT said some teachers have accepted "that being assaulted by pupils is part of the job".

The union held its annual conference in Belfast on Saturday addressing conditions experienced by teachers.

Teachers say the problem is bigger in the special needs sector where they say more support is needed.

Catriona Morgan said the issues are known, but a lack of funding means little has been done to help teachers

Catriona Morgan, a teacher at a special needs school, said violence against staff is "very real".

She said there are strategic plans in place but there is "a lack of funding" and challenges with waiting lists and outside support.

The conference comes after some parents of SEN children said they face a "fight from day one" to get support from the Education Authority.

Paul Fitzpatrick, a special needs school representative, said there has been an increase in violence towards special needs teachers.

"There's thousands and thousands of cases every month and even mainstream teachers are now having more and more issues," he said.

Paul Fitzpatrick said there has been an increase in violence towards special needs teachers

Among other issues raised were teachers' salaries.

Teaching staff went on strike in February after unions and the Department of Education could not reach an agreement on salary increases to cope with the cost of living crisis.

Teacher Sally Rees, who was at the NASUWT conference, said some of the teachers' stories were heart-breaking.

She said one teacher told of being attacked by a pupil and having marks on her face that were so bad people would stare at her in public.

"That's just the normal reality for some of our schools and some of our special needs settings in particular," she added.

Some teachers believe that recent issues at schools have been made worse by social media.

Chris Kerrigan, a post-primary teacher, said he has received online abuse from school pupils.

Sally Rees said some of the teachers' stories were heart-breaking

He added that social media platforms have made abuse against teachers more prevalent.

The NASUWT's Justin McCamphill said: "Teachers are routinely facing levels of violent behaviour and injury at work.

"Our members believe this is directly connected to funding pressures of special school."