Statistics published in April 2023 by the Women’s Rights Network revealed that at least 2,088 rapes including gang rapes and 4,451 sexual assaults including assaults on children, were reported by NHS between January 2019 and October 2022 – a rate of 33 a week. The data does not detail whether the offences were carried out at NHS or private facilities. But a shocking 1 in 7 took place on hospital wards. And just 4.1% of the crimes resulted in the suspect facing a charge or summons.
Jo Phoenix, the Reading University criminology professor who wrote the report, said the findings showed NHS trusts were ‘failing in their duty to protect both patients and staff‘.
She added: ‘The fact that 95.9% of all reports were either no-further-actioned or not recorded (officially as crimes) is also truly appalling. Although there are no reasons given within the research for this alarmingly low figure, what is clear is that there appears to be ingrained inertia in dealing with this safeguarding and policing failure.’
According to new YouGov research (June 2022), teachers also experience regular aggression and even violence from school children with 1 in 7 secondary school teachers (15%) saying they experience violence from a pupil at least once a month, including 5% who say they are subject to attacks at least once a week.
In October 2022, a UNISON report confirmed that teaching assistants have reported being kicked, punched and spat at by pupils in mainstream primary and secondary schools.
Extensive data already existed regarding pupil-on-pupil violence plus aggression towards teachers and senior managers, however this analysis was the first to include the violence and aggression faced by teaching and classroom assistants in England, Scotland and Wales.
All described being the target of student aggression in a range of ways, including being hit in the face, punched, kicked and bitten. Researchers found that in several cases staff reported receiving death threats from pupils.
Physical injuries included cuts, a black eye, a dislocated thumb, a broken finger and ripped ligaments. Staff also reported a range of psychological problems, including stress, anxiety and depression. Two workers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The report also noted that the response of schools to attacks was sometimes inadequate. Teaching assistants felt the message from their employers was that it was their job to manage pupil violence. This, combined with their low status, normalised violence against them.
The report was compiled by University of Roehampton’s criminologist Dr Amanda Holt who commented; “The shocking experiences described by staff who took part in the research reflect a much wider problem highlighted in an earlier survey by UNISON. This found 53% of teaching assistants had experienced physical violence from students in the previous year.”
Breaking down incidents of pupil violence and aggression into Scottish schools, the UNISON report showed that over 22,000 violent attacks by pupils in the classroom were reported to Council staff during 2021.
The Report concluded that the situation is now at “crisis point” and called for new legislation to protect school staff members. This was confirmed by the Union’s senior education health and safety representative in Glasgow, Sylvia Haughney, who is also a pupil support worker of 24 years, who said: “Members have reported incidents from swearing, spitting and kicking to sexual assault, being punched, even getting their jaw broken. When people are routinely abused at work, they absorb a lot of that and not all of it is being reported. It’s now at crisis point.”
Aside from NHS workers and teachers, 7% of fatalities that occurred in the workplace have been a result of hitting, kicking, beating, and/or pushing.
The latest British Retail Crime Survey showed incidents of violence and abuse have soared to 1,301 incidents per day (up from 455 the previous year). The rise was mainly accounted for by a rise in abuse. There were 21 incidents a day of violence with injury; 104 a day of violence without injury; and 1,176 abusive incidents a day. Over 15% of the workforce suffered some form of harassment.
Our Personal Safety in the Workplace courses are designed to keep YOUR staff safe. We can either provide a half-day, classroom-based Powerpoint presentation which can be tailored to include your own code words and safety systems, if you prefer. Or, over a full day, we can run this presentation combined with practical self defence training involving breakaway techniques.
You will find many providers who can offer Personal Safety advice and training, and you’ll find many self defence training providers, but we don’t know of any who offer both Personal Safety in the Workplace training combined with self defence breakaway techniques to help keep your team safe.
And our prices can’t be beat. Unlike other providers who charge £300-£500 per person or £2,800 + VAT per course, we keep our costs low. We are a charity, so for us it’s not about making a profit, it’s about keeping people safe. So please contact us for a quote.
Our Personal Safety in the Workplace course can be held either at our Barony St John Centre in Ardrossan or at your own venue.
Our half-day, classroom-based course will help participants:
► Assess and reduce the risk of violence in the work environment;
► Identify behaviour that indicates an escalation towards violence, and helps them take appropriate measures to avoid, calm or defuse the situation;
► Understand the importance to report all incidents relating to Personal Safety; and if you wish,
► Will also inform your team where to find your own guidance on workplace policies and procedures.
We include things like the Law relating to Violence at Work, Health & Safety legislation, how to negate risk, risk assessment & dynamic risk assessment, positive communication & body language, defusing aggressive behaviour, exit strategies, and code words.
If you would like us to emphasise any other points or if you would like our training to include something different, please let us know. Hopefully, we can devise a course that is bespoke to your organisation and suits the needs of you and your team.
Our self defence half-day, covers:
► The Law regarding Self Defence;
► Reasonable Use of Force;
► Warning Signs and Danger Signs (so you know can recognise when an attacker is about to attack before it happens);
► Voice Control (de-escalation);
► Defensive Stance;
► The T-Zone (so you know where to effectively strike an attacker)
► Improvised Weapons; and
► Various scenarios such as what to do if you’re being followed.
From a practical viewpoint, we cover breakaway techniques from a wrist grab and clothing grab, escape from a strangle hold, how to defend against a frontal attacker and a back attack, and if you wish, defence against a sexual assault (for female participants only).
Our courses have fantastic results – but don’t take our word for it, here are some testimonials from businesses and organisations that have previously booked our course:
“There was a great balance of theory and practical. The instructors delivered the course with a good balance of warmth, sensitivity and humour where appropriate. It was an excellent session.”
“I feel more confident being out alone. It was also great to be able to put all of the training into practice by being ‘attacked’. I’d definitely recommend this course. It was very good and I have since shown my children some moves.”
“Amazing course would love to do it again.”
“This was an excellent course. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, Alan and John made it fun and enjoyable. The mix of sitting down listening and more active learning made it varied and interesting. Alan and John were very hands-on when we were working in pairs, coming round correcting, demonstrating and explaining. The best thing about the course was that everything taught was so practical and didn’t rely on strength. It gives the participant a ‘toolkit’ of techniques to draw on. I would absolutely recommend this course to others. I wish it could be offered to all women and, in particular, to all the women we work with at HomeStart. Just a great day’s training, leading to increased confidence and awareness. Thank you.”
“A HUGE thanks for yesterday, the feedback has been amazing, and the next session is filling up fast! It was much more than I expected, everyone has left with knowledge and skills that they didn’t have when they first arrived to the session.”
“Going into the session I had no understanding of what to do if I was to ever be attacked, and now I feel empowered with the knowledge of what I am allowed to do to defend myself as well as the best possible ways to do this successfully. I think every woman should have the opportunity to attend a session like this.”
“It has made me feel more empowered. As a woman living alone it is so important to know what to do in a situation that could help prevent anything happening.”
“I liked everything about this course. The theory part was really interesting and it is really good to have the knowledge that I learned, and the practical was totally amazing. I never thought I’d have that strength to face someone if I am in danger. I cannot stop talking about this training and I’ll encourage people to do it next time.”
Streetsport Aberdeen:
“A great day! From the feedback I’ve received so far I know our guys found it not only extremely useful but enjoyable too which I had not expected beforehand! This is a testament to you both your tutors; the right amount of seriousness and fun! For a primarily voluntary group this is an important factor we look for when booking external training providers.”
Highlands & Islands Enterprise:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the session. The trainers made what is a serious subject enjoyable, interesting and informative. It made you think about solutions to things you normally worry about.”
“The team at Money Matters found the training very informative but also fun – so much so that we booked another course for a refresher and also for staff who had missed the first course and, on listening to the description of the day, were keen to be included.
The staff felt they were given good advice and tips that they could use in their work environment and their personal lives to make them more confident in defending themselves and hopefully safer dealing with the public.”
“The course was empowering – because it taught me self defence techniques which were extremely effective and made me feel safer.”
“I feel the full course was required. The day went so fast because it was so enjoyable but practical and could be relevant in all walks of life. I will be sharing aspects with my female family members and friends.”
“The course exceeded my expectations.”
“This was the best course I have ever been on in my entire life“.
“These are vital life skills for everyone.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the “Personal Safety in the Workplace” session. The trainers made what is a serious subject enjoyable, interesting and informative. It made you think about things you normally put to the back of your mind. I can now feel safer walking home from work. “
Our Personal Safety in the Workplace courses have been recognised for improving employee self-confidence, decreasing anxiety levels and keeping staff safe. We are delighted that the quality of our courses have been recognised at The Scotland Prestige Awards 2021 where we won the “Safety Training Specialists of the Year” award, at Business Awards UK’s Health & Safety Awards 2024 where we won the “Safety Training Provider of the Year” award, and again at the SME500 UK Awards 2024 for small-medium enterprises, where we won the “SME Business Excellence in Professional Training & Coaching – United Kingdom” award, particularly for our ‘Personal Safety in the Workplace’ courses.
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