Schools aren't as safe as we'd like to hope

#5 Schools aren't as safe as we'd like to hope

At this time yesterday morning, she would have been preparing for a new week in school. No doubt she would have been going over her lessons for the day. Reminding herself to photocopy the homework. Have a word with the Year 6 child about the work he'd struggled with. In the back of her mind she may have been preparing for half term, perhaps a holiday to look forward to. Maybe she was thinking ahead to retirement, surely not too far away, and receiving her well-earned pension whilst spending her time with those that she loved.

 Nothing could have prepared her for what lay ahead. 

Anne Maguire's tragic death has horrified and spread fear among teachers everywhere. Whilst now is the time to pray for her family and those that witnessed this terrible incident in Leeds, you can guarantee that in the medium term, there will be national calls to tighten security in schools; and that unions will use this event to demonstrate the pressure that teachers face in the classroom.

As a primary school teacher, I do feel safe. I feel in control. I feel strong. In a secondary school, the children are a lot bigger, a lot stronger. If I taught in a secondary school, this morning I would feel a little less safe. It's not the knives that I'd be worrying about...it's everything else that children bring to school.

Put it like this. Here is a system that throws together several hundred children each day. Each one has witnessed different things around the breakfast table, or perhaps the night before. Arguments. Laughter. Domestic abuse. Love. Graphic language. Nurture. Abuse. A good proportion will have returned from school the previous day and spent the time in between in front of a screen, watching TV that is unsuitable for them or playing ridiculously lifelike games that parents bought to keep them quiet. They have not been socialising with their peers. They have been shooting, killing, even performing acts of a sexual nature on a computer. They have been accessing hardcore porn which is so prevalent on the Internet. Their worldview is shaped by such things. Their relationships are shaped by such things. And so often, they don't have a clue about the consequences of their actions in the real world.

And so, to lessons. Crammed in a hot classroom, sitting closely to someone you don't like. The pressure of exams and tests. Black children, white children, Christians, Muslims, boys, girls. Teachers. Children. Friends. Enemies. Us. Them.

Snap.

This morning, two lives have been ruined. A 15-year old boy who is currently in police custody and a 61-year old teacher who paid the ultimate price in a career where there should never have been a price to pay.

Schools aren't safe places. What can we change? More security? Police on site? CCTV in every classroom? Stab vests for teachers?

No. It's too much. All we can do is teach good values, to parents and children. Teach about consequences. Teach against violence. It may not be enough, but I'm a teacher, not a security guard.

RIP Anne Maguire.