Dozens injured each year in school workplace violence

A distressing number of violent incidents and other harmful acts of force have been reported by Fraser Valley school workers in the last five years.

Since 2018, the number of workers injured by others in schools has increased significantly, according to WorkSafeBC numbers obtained by The Current.

Working in a school would appear to be a seemingly safe occupation. But school workers in the Fraser Valley’s five school districts have submitted more than 150 claims of violent incidents to WorkSafeBC in the last five years.

The number of claims has also risen dramatically over that period of time. There were at least 27 claims recorded in 2018 and at least 38 in 2022. For privacy reasons, specific numbers were not released for districts in years where reported cases were between one and four.

Cases peaked in 2021, with at least 49 reports of violence. The majority of claims over the last two years have come from Chilliwack and Abbotsford school workers.

The claims all follow acts of violence or other harmful “acts of force” that resulted in an injury. They may have been submitted by educators, administrators, custodians, or counsellors, WorkSafeBC told the Current. The instances do not necessarily involve students and staff, but can also involve parents, visitors, or staff members only.

Some of the injuries may not involve deliberate acts of violence.

“It also includes acts of force, which is an incident where a person was injured or made ill by a harmful act but there was no apparent intent to injure.”

In 2020, cases declined across all districts from the previous year. That year, a pandemic forced education online.

Districts across the Fraser Valley are working to address mental health challenges in schools. (Read the Current’s story here.) But Tanya Kerr, the president of the Langley Teachers’ Association, says her district falls short to support teachers and students who witness acts of violence by their peers in schools.

The need for support is high but the resources fall short.

Kerr, like many of her colleagues, is on a waitlist to access counselling through Langley’s employee and family assistance program.

In December 2021, the Langley district conducted a staff survey that measures mental health and safety in the workplace. Kerr says the district is aware of staff needs and it’s just a matter of now addressing them.