Latest news with #NASUWTCymru
Daily Record
13-05-2025
- Daily Record
School locked down by armed police amid weapon fears
Firearms officers were in attendance as pupils were kept inside their classrooms. A school was locked down on Monday morning amid fears a pupil had brought a weapon on to school property in their bag. Police, including firearms officers, were called to Lewis School Pengam in Caerphilly, Wales, on May 12. All pupils were placed in a lockdown situation at around 9.30am while the incident was dealt with. Parents were updated on the situation later in the day. In a statement from the school, seen by our sister title WalesOnline, head teacher Chris Parry said nobody was injured in the incident. He added: 'We responded to an incident within the school utilising our school lockdown procedure. ' Police were in attendance and the incident was dealt with within the hour. School has returned to normal schedule. 'We appreciate this can be unsettling for pupils and parents and our pastoral team are checking in on their groups.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Gwent Police said a student was searched on school grounds before the lockdown was lifted, and no weapon was found. A spokesperson for the force said: 'We received a call at around 9.40am on Monday, May 12 reporting a potential concern for safety on the premises of Lewis School Pengam after a comment was made about an alleged weapon in a pupil's bag. 'The school was put into lockdown and officers, including specifically-trained firearms officers, attended as a precaution. The pupil and bag were searched and no weapon was found.' In March, the teaching union NASUWT Cymru repirted 6,446 reports of violent incidents in Welsh schools between 2023 and 2024, up from 4,714 the previous year. The Welsh Government is due to deliberate on the outcomes of a round table discussion on violence and safety in schools, as part of a behaviour summit.
Wales Online
13-05-2025
- Wales Online
Armed police called as school goes into lockdown over weapon fears
Armed police called as school goes into lockdown over weapon fears The school was placed into lockdown for around an hour while firearms officers attended Firearms officers were called following the incident which happened at Lewis School Pengam, Caerphilly borough (Image: Mark Lewis ) A Welsh school was placed into lockdown over fears a pupil had brought a weapon onto the premises in their bag. Firearms officers were then called following the incident which happened at Lewis School Pengam, Caerphilly borough, on Monday morning. Staff at the school decided to place all students in a lockdown situation at around 9.30am and contacted parents later in the day. In a statement seen by WalesOnline head teacher Chris Parry explained no-one was harmed during the incident. He said: 'We responded to an incident within the school utilising our school lockdown procedure. 'Police were in attendance and the incident was dealt with within the hour. School has returned to normal schedule. 'We appreciate this can be unsettling for pupils and parents and our pastoral team are checking in on their groups.' Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. Article continues below A spokesman for Gwent Police added a pupil was searched at the scene and no weapon was found before the school returned to normal. 'We received a call at around 9.40am on Monday, May 12 reporting a potential concern for safety on the premises of Lewis School Pengam after a comment was made about an alleged weapon in a pupil's bag. 'The school was put into lockdown and officers, including specifically-trained firearms officers, attended as a precaution. The pupil and bag were searched and no weapon was found.' Article continues below In March the teaching union NASUWT Cymru reported there were 6,446 violent incident reports from schools in Wales between 2023 and 2024 compared to 4,714 the previous year. The Welsh Government is set to deliberate on the outcomes of a recent round table on violence and safety in schools at an upcoming behaviour summit.
Powys County Times
25-04-2025
- Powys County Times
How many violent incidents are reported in Powys schools?
Nearly 160 violent incidents were reported in Powys schools last year, according to data from a teacher's union. Teachers' union NASUWT Cymru requested information from local authorities across Wales to discover how many Violent Incident Report forms had been returned by school-based employees. The request was made part of an annual survey to establish the extent of violence in schools in Wales, with the report by NASUWT Cymru saying that the evidence the union compiled showed 'education in Wales is reaching a crisis point'. Data for Powys showed that the past few years has seen over a hundred violent incident reports submitted each year for the past few years. Powys schools reported 169 incidents in the 2021-2022 school year, 114 in 2022-2023 and 159 over the course of 2023-2024. The report compiled data from local authorities from across Wales, with the total number of Powys incidents between 2019 and 2024 significantly lower than areas such as Swansea, reporting 3,180, and Newport, reporting 2,338. NASUWT Cymru added that the report was put together to 'examine the many ways the pupil behaviour crisis is impacting on the teaching profession'. The report concluded by saying: 'The evidence compiled in this report shows that education in Wales is reaching a crisis point. Violence in schools goes under-reported and yet the data that is available is shocking. 'Support for schools by local authorities is inadequate, so pupils with serious emotional and behavioural difficulties remain placed in schools that are unable to address their needs. Many schools operate behaviour management systems that concentrate on the individual needs of the pupil to the detriment of all the other pupils and the school staff. 'Our data demonstrates that teachers feel unprepared to deal with violence and aggression from learners. "Good education in schools starts with good behaviour. Happy, healthy and confident teachers are essential for school improvement. And we all want children in Wales to be in a safe and caring environment. 'NASUWT looks forward to the Welsh Government's Behaviour Summit, which is due to take place in May as a result of a sustained NASUWT campaign. But the Summit must produce a clear way forward for schools and teachers. 'As the Summit approaches, NASUWT will set out proposals to address the serious impact of pupil violence and aggression in schools, and will invite the government to work in partnership to achieve our shared goals.'
