Posted By Mitch Would muzzles be a cheaper option?

Posted By Adrian Clifton Ian This problem has been present for many years and, as far as I am aware, remains unresolved to a satisfactory level. My wife (school worker) is regularly "assaulted" by the young person she is employed to care for on a one-to-one basis. She has regularly been bitten, slapped, kicked and had things thrown at her. On occaisions she has been bitten hard enough to draw blood or comes homes with bruises. The young person has "Special needs" and my wife says that these injuries are expected to occur. My response is "WHAT????? If it is expected (reasonably foreseeable) what is the school doing about it?" Answer: Sweet FA (and I'm not talking football). My wife has reported incidents to her Line Manager who has not even asked her to complete a Personal Injury Report. The response from the school goes something like this. "The young person does not mean any harm (does this mean the injuries inflicted have no meaning as well?) He/she doesn't understand what results from his/her actions. There's nothing we can do because we don't want to exclude him/her from the school because it will make bad press. We can't punish him/her because we may get in to trouble with the LEA and/or his/her parents. I do not believe that these young people should be excluded (all young people have the right to receive education) nor do I believe it is right to employ extreme restraint measures (like sellotaping them to chairs), but something has to be done to protect staff. Does anyone out there have a reasonable, practicable solution that does not involve turning staff in to some sort of modern day knight in armour? Adrian Ps. Mitch, not funny, not helpful in any way shape or form and totaly inapropriate on a professional forum.

Posted By Philip Beale I think the gloves are a short term measure the root cause needs tacking which the school seems to be ignoring. i would suggest filling in the accident report book (even though it's not an accident) at least this way it's been documented as you say your wife should not be subject to this form of injury. It's down to the school to tackle the issues as biting can be associated with the inability of the person to show / express their emotions in words. Is it mede clear to them that when they bite that the person is hurt and made clear to them that it is wrong. can they not be encouraged to bite into something else when they are frustrated. Not sure what their special needs are so very hard to comment but the current situation will only get worse as they are biting staff to get a response so wearing gloves will not resolve the issue if they are drawing blood then the health implications need looking at hepatitis and dare I say it AIDS unfortunately if the line managers are trying to cover up such actions then it may need taking higher (union or local authority). As you say I'm sure ARGO will have something suitable but i don't think that is resolving the real issue and that's what needs looking at phil