A union has shared details of its survey of school support staff.

Thirty-five per cent of school support staff said they "witness verbal abuse in schools across Yorkshire and Humberside every day," according to a survey released on Friday, November 29 by UNISON.

In sharing its survey, the union also drew attention to figures released this month by the Department for Education, regarding suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24-autumn-term

According to the Department for Education data, which applies across state-funded schools, 346,279 suspensions were made in the 23/24 autumn term, up from 247,366 in the 22/23 autumn term.

Furthermore, 4,168 exclusions were made in the 23/24 autumn term, up from 3,104 in the 22/23 autumn term.

In UNISON's survey, 34 per cent of school support workers in the region said they see pushing on a daily basis.

Twenty-six per cent reported kicking and the throwing of objects as day-to-day issues.

Seventy-five per cent said they have witnessed violence at work in the past year.

For its survey, UNISON carried out a survey of 7,811 school support staff members across the UK between October 10 and October 25, 2024 - of which 796 were from Yorkshire and Humberside.

UNISON's full report is available at https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2024/11/Stars-24-final-report.pdf