Introduction and Context

Teachers and school staff should not have to face violence and aggression in their workplaces. All school community members deserve to work free from violence and its impacts. Our collective goal is to prevent school-based violence in all its forms and contexts.

OTF acknowledges that school-based violence is an issue of workplace safety for teachers and other education sector workers. Teachers and education workers have the right to work in schools that are safe and secure, and they cannot be expected to compensate for the lack of available support and resources in schools.

“Give kids a specific duty, make them responsible for something in the classroom—when kids are responsible for something they will feel accountable to others”

Teachers who are experiencing significant frustration about violence in schools, both among and from students, sometimes take the difficult decision to leave the profession temporarily or permanently. Those who remain may feel undermined by weak, or lack of any, consequences for violations of conduct. It is not uncommon for teachers to feel unsupported when they do experience or witness violence, discouraged by the repetition of the same violent behaviour or daily incidents, uncertainty as to who will address the violence, and the erosion of respect in general for teachers and schools.

Section 264(1)(e) of the Education Act bestows on teachers the responsibility to “maintain, under the direction of the principal, proper order and discipline in the teacher’s classroom and while on duty in the school and on the school ground.”

Unfortunately, we are increasingly seeing the normalization of school-based violence. This trend is part of a broader context, characterized by a societal erosion of respect for institutions (such as schools) and, consequently, the erosion of respect for teachers.

As school-based violence is a systemic issue with systemic causes, it needs systemic solutions. Schools are not insulated from societal pressures. They are a microcosm of society at large and, as such, all the issues and tensions that create and impact Ontario cultures and societies, also shape and colour our school cultures and climates. Given the serious issues people are facing, such as discrimination, family violence, economic insecurity, war, poverty, homelessness, and many others, violence in schools can be a symptom of societal and systemic inequities impacting young people and their families.

“When kids are upset—when I reiterate what I see is happening and affirm their feelings—they calm down. They need to know that we see what is happening for them and give them a chance to share.”

Teachers are not social workers or psychologists and cannot be expected to take on the work of clinically trained professionals who have received in-depth training on student mental health and trauma. Nor can teachers be expected to remedy societal ills or resolve tensions and conflicts that emanate from the broader society. Furthermore, as members of the same society, teachers themselves may experience the same types of distress.

Teachers feel the tension between their rights to a safe workplace, the rights of students experiencing/witnessing violence, and circumstances impacting students who perpetrate violence. The tension is taut because these rights may appear to be in competition with one another.

OTF recognizes this tension and believes it is imperative to support teachers, who are facing these realities through no fault of their own, by providing hands-on tools for addressing violence, even before it erupts, and for de-escalating aggressive confrontations whenever appropriate.

Addressing school-based violence requires a multi-level approach, involving all stakeholders. While we understand that a comprehensive whole-school and whole-community approach is needed, providing this is clearly beyond the purview of this resource. Rather, we focus on immediate strategies, enabling teachers and support staff to respond effectively to acts of aggression and to pre-empt violence at school, while attending to their own well-being, safety and dignity, as well as that of their students.

“Teachers are not social workers or psychologists and cannot be expected to take on the work of clinically trained professionals who have received in-depth training on student mental health and trauma.”