AN incident where an out-of-control student kicked, punched, slapped and headbutted a female teacher before he swore at and spat on an assistant principal who intervened is one of a string of serious incidents included in the latest report reported in the Dubbo education district.
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The figures for Term 4 2013 were released by the Department of Education and Communities this week.
Western NSW recorded 36 serious incidents in Term 4.
Of those, 11 were assaults, nine involved threats, four involved weapons and three involved drugs.
Other serious matters included sexting and cyber-bullying.
While down on the previous school term’s figure of 44 (the highest number of school security incidents in Western NSW in almost a decade of electronic records), it was a figure greater than Term 4 2012, where 22 incidents were reported.
While names of individual schools and other identifying details were blacked out in the report, it does identify incidents attributable to the Dubbo education district.
In the aforementioned incident, which took place on November 22, 2013, the male student upended furniture and turned water on in the classroom, causing it to overflow in a sink.
He left the classroom and stole a bicycle to ride away from the school before returning and stealing another.
His parents were called to the school but were unable to control the student for some time, the report said, before the school “implemented appropriate disciplinary action ... and the victims returned to their duties.”
Police from Orana Local Area Command were informed.
Each safety and security directorate report detailed a series of actions that were taken in the aftermath of the incident, which included steps such as notifying students’ parents and police, performing risk assessments prior to students’ return to school and providing staff and students with counselling.
A spokesperson for the education department reiterated comments made to the Daily Liberal following the previous report that there was no suggestion the average number of actual incidents was increasing appreciably.
“The increase in recent years is partly attributable to more consistent reporting and better understanding of reporting procedures,” he said.
The report pointed out most schools (nearly 87 per cent) did not need to report a single incident in Term 4, 2013 and 9 per cent of schools reported just one serious incident.
“Our schools are among the safest places in our community for children and young people,” the report read.
“However, from time to time, incidents do affect schools just as they affect communities and society as a whole.”
Other examples of serious incidents in Dubbo region schools, Term 4 2013.
- November 20, 2013: A male student used scissors to cut a female student’s leg.
- November 8, 2013: School learning support officers were struck by stray punches when they tried to intervene in a fight between two girls during class. One student left the room and picked up rocks and “intended to throw them at people who might approach her”.
- October 31, 2013: A male student verbally abused a teacher and threw equipment around a room, left the building, broke a window then threw rocks at the building.
- October 30, 2013: A suspended male student told a principal he would be “doing something” to the principal’s vehicle after claiming the suspension he had been handed was unfair. The principal contacted police. Later the student walked into the playground, ran at another male student, hitting a teacher in the shoulder as he grabbed the other student and punched him in the face. The teacher tried to restrain the student but the student threw glassware and other items at the teacher and other student, pushed the teacher and spat in the teacher’s face. The school went into lockdown and an ambulance was called to take the teacher to hospital.
- October 29, 2013: A male student picked up a knife and threatened another male student while the pair were having a verbal disagreement in class.
- October 14, 2013: A relieving principal was alerted a female student had filmed a male student trying to annoy a teacher. The video, which showed the male student invading the teacher’s personal space, was then uploaded to a website.
- October 9, 2013: A student was sexting a student from another high school. Another student obtained a copy of the image and sent copies to other students before posting the images on the internet with the victim’s name and details.
