Ei-iE

EI is horrified to learn that 61-year-old Spanish teacher Anne Maguire was stabbed to death in front of students on 28 April at the Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, UK. A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the incident.

In a statement on the Leeds City Councils website, the school said it would be open as normal on 29 April. It added: “Our school community is in shock today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”

Teachers' unions and political leaders have united in voicing their shock at the fatal stabbing of the secondary school teacher.

Downing Street said the UK Prime Minister's thoughts were with the victim's family, while Education Secretary Michael Gove described it as an “appalling tragedy”.

NUT: Death in place of safety ‘devastating’

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), one of EI’s national affiliates, and President of the EI European region’s European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), said the fatal stabbing was “a truly awful thing to have happened to a teacher in the course of her work to educate the next generation”.

“Appalling events like this are, thankfully, very rare indeed, but the death of any teacher in her place of work, which should be a place of safety, is devastating. Our condolences go to the family and friends of this teacher, and to students and colleagues at the school.”

She said that NUT would provide help and assistance to the college and its community.

NASUWT: Support for those affected by tragic loss

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, another UK teachers’ union affiliated to EI, also reacted by saying: “Our thoughts are with Anne Maguire’s family and with the staff, pupils, and whole college community at Corpus Christi Catholic College. Occurrences such as this are extremely rare, but this is cold comfort to families who have lost a loved one, staff who have lost a friend and colleague, and pupils who have lost a dedicated teacher.”

Clearly, at the appropriate time, all of the circumstances of how this tragedy unfolded will need to be examined, but the priority now must be to support all of those who have suffered this tragic loss, she stressed.

NASUWT has contacted its members at the school and the head teacher to offer whatever support they and the college community need.

EI: schools must be safe sanctuaries

“EI wishes to express its sincere condolences to Ms. Maguire’s family, as well as to the Corpus Christi Catholic College’s entire school community,” said EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen. “It is always so hard to accept the reality of such a sad and terrible act when a teacher - who is dedicated to nurturing and helping pupils to achieve their full potential – is harmed at work.”

Violence at school a burning issue in the UK

According to the BBC, head teachers in the UK have often cautioned that inner-city schools can be safer than the streets that surround them. They can be safe havens for youngsters in tough areas.

UK schools have increased their levels of security in recent years, often because of fears of teenage knife violence. Security arches have been used to detect weapons and many schools use CCTV cameras and security gates to control access.

But teachers' unions have repeatedly warned of the threat facing staff in the classroom.

Earlier this month, NASUWT revealed that almost Stg£21 million had been paid in compensation to its members in the past year, including for injuries to staff. Cases included a female teacher in the West Midlands who received injuries to her face, head, neck, arm and shoulder, as she tried to break up a fight.

There were 250 pupils caught with weapons in schools in 2013, although this was down on 2012, when 326 pupils were caught with weapons.

The most recent annual figures on exclusions in England show that 550 pupils are permanently excluded from school because of a “physical assault against an adult”. There were also 860 exclusions because of assaults against other pupils.