Strike threat over attacks on staff at Omagh school

STRIKE action is being considered at Arvalee School and Resource Centre in Omagh after it emerged that classroom assistants are being violently attacked on average once per week, the Ulster Herald can reveal.

Around 100 staff members have supported a letter from their union to both the school and the Department of Education, calling for urgent action to address the seriousness of the situation now facing them.

It comes as staff reveal how they have been subjected to episodes of violence and aggression by pupils at the school.

They say the incidents have resulted in significant injuries, including bruising, fractured eye sockets, broken noses, strained fingers and thumbs, hair loss from being forcibly pulled to the ground, whiplash, torn muscles, and, in extreme cases, stabbings to the face with items like pencils.

Many of the incidents have resulted in staff members receiving treatment in hospital.

Conor McCarthy, UNISON regional organiser, said the cumulative effect of the assaults has been ‘devastating both physically and mentally’.

He added that, in addition to the physical injuries, staff are facing psychological challenges including stress, anxiety, depression, and, in some cases, post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We have encountered various forms of aggression, including physical attacks, such as being punched, kicked, spat upon and bitten,” he told the Ulster Herald.

Mr McCarthy said they had submitted a formal complaint concerning the management of Arvalee School, as they feel that their concerns over the violence have not been adequately addressed.

He pointed out that while the UNISON members at the school are fully aware of the complex nature of the needs of the pupils at Arvalee, the nature of the attacks they have experienced is ‘completely unacceptable’ and warned that staff are at ‘breaking point’.

“Our members deeply care about the pupils. However, their dedication cannot be taken for granted.

“All people have a breaking point, and our members are now at this stage.”

“This is one of the most serious situations which we have encountered both in the nature and frequency of the attacks,” Mr McCarthy added.

“Arvalee School and Resource Centre needs to guarantee that our members are able to work in an environment where they are not subjected to physical violence and where incidents in which they are assaulted are thoroughly investigated.”

UNISON has also said that industrial action, including strike action, is among the options being considered by staff if the issues which they have highlighted are not addressed.

The union says it is currently consulting its staff members in relation to this.