Teachers Conference: Teachers want paid leave for assaults by pupils

Teachers have been head-butted, kicked, punched, spat at, and suffered broken bones as attacks in the classroom become more frequent and violent.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has warned that the assaults are becoming more serious, with teachers being hospitalised in some cases.

Tracey Whyte, a teacher at a special school in Dublin, told the annual congress that so far this year, six of her colleagues have been seriously assaulted in 60 separate incidents, and she has personally suffered more than 20 physical assaults.