20% of SNAs assaulted in class every day

Hundreds of special needs assistants (SNAs) have been assaulted by the children they care for in classrooms, but they are more concerned about the dismissive attitude of their schools.

A survey of more than 1,900 SNAs by their union Impact, found that more than one third experienced assaults on a weekly basis, with one in five being assaulted daily.

Almost 10,500 SNAs work with children with a range of care needs, many with extremely challenging behaviours that requires the full-time help of an SNA in class. Almost half of the surveyed SNAs work in special schools, which cater for children with more extreme needs, or in mainstream schools with units for pupils with special needs.