Feb 25, 2020, Northern Ireland, Lurgan Mail: NI teachers debate wearing bodycams to feel safe in classroom https://www.lurganmail.co.uk/education/ni-teachers-debate-wearing-bodycams-to-feel-safe-in-classroom-1-9244517 Northern Ireland teachers should not have to wear body cams to feel safe in the classroom, according to a local vice-principal. Susan Thompson, vice principal of Hart Memorial and President of the Ulster Teachers’ Union, was responding to calls elsewhere in the UK for such measures to be adopted. “Northern Ireland is no different and we have seen a growing number of serious incidents in recent years,” she said. “We have seen teachers punched and kicked; a pupil even threatened to stab a pregnant teacher, while another staff member needed a tetanus injection after being bitten. … “Teachers’ and classroom assistants’ safety must be paramount and we have seen that increasingly compromised, to the extent that some schools have installed panic button in classrooms so staff can call for help in an emergency. “However, the fact remains that some of the children involved in these incidents shouldn’t be in a school setting in the first place or if they are, they need more specialised support. “The issue then is being exacerbated by the delay in being able to have these children assessed and a plan put in place for them. “That delay is, of course, due to funding. “We appreciate the Minister is making the Special Educational Needs sector a priority but we would again underline the urgency of this matter….
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