School staff injuries: Hundreds of teachers and SNAs forced off work after classroom incidents

'The children are not to blame,' said INTO general secretary John Boyle. 'But teachers cannot be expected to manage crisis situations alone.' File Picture: iStock

Hundreds of school staff have been forced to take leave from their jobs in recent years due to physical injuries they sustained in the classroom or on the schoolyard.

Assault leave has been granted at least 1,700 times since 2020 to teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) physically injured in the course of their duties.