Report: Violence in Classrooms is Rising, The System is Under Strain

“Violence has become the ‘new normal’ in classrooms across the province. Students and teachers have the right to learn and work in a safe and healthy environment, yet too often that basic expectation is not being met.
Findings from A System Under Strain: Violence and Harassment in Ontario Schools, a province-wide survey of Catholic teachers, confirm that violence against teachers in Ontario schools is no longer rare, isolated, or unexpected. It has become a daily reality for both school staff and students, and chronic underfunding of the education system plays a big role in making the situation even worse.

• 9 in 10 teachers have experienced or witnessed violence or harassment at school.
• Incidents are getting more frequent; teachers now report an average of seven violent incidents a year.
• Women report higher exposure to acts of violence, especially in Kindergarten and Grades 1 to 3.

Violence and harassment affect all teachers, but women, 2SLGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, racialized, and disabled teachers report disproportionate exposure, as well as less confidence that existing reporting systems will lead to meaningful action.

Violent incidents are often cries for help from our most vulnerable students. Chronic government underfunding is exacerbating this situation, creating conditions where violent behaviour is more likely to escalate. Overcrowded classrooms, staffing shortages, growing class complexity, and limited access to mental health supports mean students in crisis are often forced to wait far too long for help – if they get any at all. When early supports are missing, classrooms become focused on crisis response instead of learning, and both student achievement and well-being suffer.

Schools cannot be safe places to learn if they are not safe places to teach. Throughout the survey results, Catholic teachers raise serious concerns about reporting systems and safety strategies that are falling short, leaving teachers discouraged from reporting incidents or uncertain that meaningful action will follow.

Catholic teachers are calling for real, sustained government investment to make schools safer for everyone. This means smaller class sizes and more frontline, school-based professionals, such as educational assistants, social workers, psychologists, and child and youth workers, as well as stable mental health funding and reporting systems that lead to meaningful action.

Catholic teachers’ working conditions are the learning conditions of the students we serve. Their safety should not be negotiable, but it will be one of OECTA’s priorities at the bargaining table in this next round.

Safety must be built into our schools. We call on the government and school boards to work meaningfully and collaboratively with Catholic teachers to make classrooms safer and more supportive. Education must be treated as an investment in Ontario’s future, not a cost to be cut. The cost of inaction when it comes to safety in our schools is too high to ignore.”

• René Jansen in de Wal, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association