Welsh Government ministers urged to act over school violence ‘epidemic’

Senedd members demanded urgent action to address an “epidemic” of violence after a 14-year-old became the first person convicted of attempted murder in a Welsh school.

Natasha Asghar led a debate in the aftermath of the schoolgirl being sentenced to 15 years’ detention on Monday for stabbing two teachers and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

The Conservatives’ shadow education secretary expressed concerns about record levels of physical assaults on teachers and a tripling of fixed-term exclusions from 2015 to 2023.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said, warning of chronic under-reporting of violence.

Ms Asghar pointed to “extremely concerning” statistics which showed the exclusion rate for pupils for additional learning needs more than doubled to almost 12%.

‘Horror’

She told the Senedd: “Something is clearly seriously wrong when over 50% of pupils with ADHD have indeed been excluded during a school year.”

Ms Asghar said a union’s survey found nearly three in five teachers believe social media negatively impacts pupil behaviour, leading to increasing misogyny and sexism.

She quoted Sharron Daly, a teacher from Bridgend, as saying: “An awful lot of young people come to us… without boundaries… at home and then that comes into the classroom.”

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell – whose brother, a teacher at the Carmarthenshire school, was hailed a hero after trying to restrain the girl – spoke of his deep personal regret.

Mr Campbell, who himself attended the school, said: “It’s a regret that’s echoed in the tight-knit, friendly community of Ammanford, amid horror that this kind of wholly intentional attack was perpetrated by a young woman with a knife in her hand.“

‘Worrying trends’

The former lecturer had no doubt the “pervasive” nature of social media has exacerbated issues such as bullying, misogyny and racism.

He added: “It is crucial, therefore, that we recognise the significant impact of social media on student behaviour and develop clear policies for schools to manage its negative influence.”

Addressing education secretary Lynne Neagle, he said: “A year has now passed since the events at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman and no solutions have been proposed by the government on safety in schools. We cannot… wait for another similar attack before you respond.”

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas stressed that worrying trends following the pandemic around children and young people’s behaviour in school are not unique to Wales.

“Similar evidence is shown throughout the UK and even internationally,” she said.

‘Palmed off’

Adam Price, who represents Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, told the Senedd: “The attack… has sent a tremor through every staff room and every kitchen table in the country.

“It is the lightning bolt that shows the storm already overhead; violence, once exceptional, is edging towards routine – an ugly new normal.”

Mr Price added: “The tragedy in Ammanford was not unforeseeable. No-one shouted louder than deputy head Ceri Myers: between January and the morning of the attack, he emailed the Welsh Government seven times pleading for guidance on challenging behaviour.

“In an interview with ITV, he said he was palmed off.

“The girl who stabbed Fiona Elias, Liz Hopkin and another pupil had already brought a knife into school the year before. The signs were there – the system didn’t see them.”

Responding to the debate on April 30, Lynne Neagle said Estyn will publish a thematic review on school behaviour on May 8 – the same day as a summit on the subject.

‘Unacceptable’

The education secretary told the Senedd: “I am deeply concerned about this, about the impact that poor behaviour has on our children’s ability to learn and succeed… on our education workforce… and about the impact that it has on the image of the profession.”

She refuted the notion that the then-deputy head was “palmed off”, saying: “Ceri Myers never wrote to [the] Welsh Government about anything to do with knives nor violence. He raised concerns about behaviour and in particular about things like vapes.

“He had a full response on a number of occasions and also met officials.”

Mr Price responded: “Here was a senior leader in Ysgol Dyffryn Aman setting out the truth and, well, the cabinet secretary was saying, ‘I refute that, I listen but if I don’t like what teachers are telling me then I’m going to ignore it.’ That’s unacceptable.”

Senedd members voted 35-13 against the Tory motion, with Plaid Cymru’s amendment also falling before the Welsh Government’s amendment was agreed – 25-13 with 10 abstaining.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter