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T rusts are reporting a significant rise in violent incidents causing injuries to staff and students, a Tes investigation reveals.

At the majority of large multi-academy trusts (MATs) analysed by Tes, the increase in incidents in recent years has outstripped MAT growth, leading to calls for “urgent help” for schools.

Leaders say they need more specialist advice in dealing with behavioural problems, along with better access for pupils who need speech and language support and more alternative provision options.

�ձ��’ findings echo warnings from teachers that abusive behaviour is rising in schools, and come as the government has launched new behaviour and attendance hubs and ambassadors.

Behaviour incidents leading to injury

Tes asked England’s 63 biggest trusts, running more than 2,300 schools between them, for the number of behavioural incidents resulting in injury in the five years to 2024-25.

Trusts record this data in different ways, but similar trends were seen across many of the MATs in our sample.

Out of the 29 trusts with 25 or more schools that provided usable data under the Freedom of Information Act, 18 had seen an increase in incidents up to the most recent year available and six had seen a rise that peaked just before the most recent year of data provided.

Only two had seen an overall fall, and the remainder could only provide data for a single year.

At LEAD Academy Trust, which runs 27 schools, there was an 826 per cent increase in incidents between 2018-19 and 2023-24, during which time the trust took on two extra primaries.

The number of incidents resulting in injury to another pupil or pupils rose from 47 in 2018-19 to 468 in 2023-24, while incidents resulting in injury to a member of staff rose from fewer than 20 to 153 in the same time frame.

Plymouth CAST, which has had 34 schools since 2014, recorded 17 behavioural incidents - defined as those resulting in “harm, disruption, or significant risk” - in 2018-19; in 2023-24, it recorded 313.

The trust said these were usually incidents severe enough to exceed local reporting thresholds, and most would have involved staff.

Over the same period, the trust also recorded an increase in any incident or accident resulting in injury from 106 to 557.

A spokesperson for the trust said it was continuing to work with colleagues and families to provide appropriate support, including by upholding existing policies and procedures, routine monitoring and discussing mitigation strategies.

At the Kent Catholic Schools’ Partnership (KCSP), which has 30 schools, reports of behavioural incidents resulting in injury have also increased. In 2018-29, there were eight recorded incidents resulting in injury to staff, as well as 52 to pupils. By 2023-24, this had risen to 45 for staff and 245 for pupils.

The trust has added six schools during that time, although data for three schools was excluded due to inconsistencies.

A spokesperson said a significant proportion of serious incidents related to a small number of pupils with particularly complex needs, amid a rise in high needs in general.

The spokesperson said the impact of the pandemic had also been significant, particularly around speech and language difficulties in the early years: “Anecdotally, it would seem there are an increased number of children entering mainstream school who find it difficult to regulate their behaviour, particularly younger children, who have yet to learn any strategies to help them manage their emotions and behaviour,” they said.

The trust had strengthened its system for recording and categorising incidents, which it said had also probably contributed to the rise.

This was a factor also flagged by Tom Bennett, speaking to Tes before his latest appointment as government behaviour and attendance ambassador. He said: “Many people outside the school sector would be shocked at some of the misbehaviour that was being ignored previously, or simply not recorded.

“Bad data used to be held against a school by Ofsted and other third-party agencies like LAs, so there was a natural pressure to decline to record poor behaviour.”

In addition, schools “are getting more confident in tackling poor behaviour”, which “inevitably also means an increase in recorded incidents, as schools now feel more supported in actually dealing with extreme behaviours”.

However, Mr Bennett also pointed to the “desocialising” impact of the pandemic, rising rates of poverty, and declining social infrastructure as reasons behind increases in high-level misbehaviour.

‘Urgent help’ needed

Department for Education data shows a large rise since the pandemic in physical assault against an adult being listed as the reason for suspension or exclusion.

And a survey by the NASUWT teaching union earlier this year found that two in five teachers reported having experienced physical abuse or violence from a pupil in the previous year. More than eight in 10 said they felt that the number of pupils exhibiting this behaviour had increased.

Speaking to Tes in August, incoming NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack, who formerly led the Fire Brigades Union, said: “I’m shocked at some of the things that teachers put up with. I’m shocked at the violence that teachers suffer.”

In response to Tes’ investigation, Mr Wrack said more targeted support was needed for teachers and pupils in and out of the classroom, along with counsellors in every school, and an increase in alternative provision for pupils with higher behaviour needs. “Teachers and pupils need urgent help,” he said.

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio pointed out that violent incidents are rare, but said his union remained concerned about slow access to specialist external support to deal with behaviour issues.

Primaries report rise in physical attacks on staff

�ձ��’ investigation found that the rise in serious incidents is not confined to secondary schools. The latest annual accounts of primary MAT REAch2, which runs 62 academies, stated that “high-level behaviour incidents” had increased to 4,435 in 2023-24 (excluding term one) - up from 2,704 in 2020-21. These incidents include vandalism, abusive language, swearing and physical violence.

The trust’s accounts said that this rise, particularly in incidents leading to staff injury, reflected the increase in high needs in schools.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT) - which has 38 primaries, seven of which have joined since September 2018 - recorded a rise in suspensions due to a physical attack from just seven in 2018-19 to 374 in 2023-24. Between September 2024 and early June 2025, the figure was 264.

The trust said that the figures reflected a change to its suspensions policy, previous under-reporting of incidents, and an increase in pupils with high needs, as well as the “increasing number of children beginning school unprepared for school life”.

A spokesperson added: “While we understand the complexities of these needs and challenges, we do not agree with little or no action being taken when staff have been hurt.”

The Shaw Education Trust, which has 31 schools, said it did not hold specific data on incidents resulting in staff or pupil injury. It did, however, record an increase in the number of incidents related to violence, aggression or challenging behaviour, from 102 in 2018-19 to 330 in 2023-24.

However, the trust has grown significantly over this period, having added 20 schools since September 2018, so this growth is likely to account for much of the increase.

Staff injuries rise even where overall violence has fallen

For some trusts, violent incidents in general seem to have peaked, but those leading to staff injuries are still rising.

For example, United Learning Trust, which grew from 64 schools in 2018-29 to 90 in 2023-24, recorded 27 incidents leading to injuries to staff and 32 to students in 2018-19, rising to 49 and 105 respectively in 2022-23.

In 2023-24, the number of incidents resulting in injuries to staff continued to increase to 80, while those resulting in injuries to students fell significantly to 60.

The Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust grew from 16 schools in 2018-19 to 28 in 2023-24. Incidents involving pupils increased from 75 to 502 in 2022-23, but fell in 2023-24 to 387.

However, as at United Learning, incidents involving adults have continued to increase into 2023-24 - from just three in 2018-19 to 118 in 2023-24. The trust said that the way physical injury incidents are reported varies to some extent by school.

Meanwhile, Derby Diocesan Academy Trust has grown from 24 schools in 2018-19 to 33 in 2023-24, but saw the number of incidents resulting in injuries to pupils fall from 122 to 28 over that time. However, incidents resulting in injuries to staff rose from 18 to 49.

Impact of speech and language intervention

At Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust (BWCET), there was a peak in suspensions and permanent exclusions due to physical assault or violent behaviour in 2022-23: 82 against an adult, and 225 against a pupil.

But in 2023-24, numbers fell back to below 2018-19 levels, at 47 incidents towards adults and 87 towards pupils.

Claire Brown, senior director of performance and standards, said that, like many other trusts, BWCET has seen an increase in complexity of need.

“We previously identified an increase in incidences of more challenging behaviour from some of the youngest pupils in our trust,” she said, adding that the trust had large numbers of younger pupils waiting for assessment and interventions for language and communication needs, who often faced long waiting times.

The trust developed its own speech language and communication needs strategy in 2023-24 with funding from the National Institute of Health and Care Research to help upskill Sendcos to identify need at an earlier age.

BWCET said that its Sendcos are reporting fewer NHS referrals as a result of being able to identify issues more confidently in schools, and that the trust is also seeing a reduction in early years pupils being identified as having social, emotional and mental-health needs.

The government announced in May that, in addition to appointing new ambassadors, it would launch 90 attendance and behaviour hubs in September as part of its plan to support schools with challenging behaviour.

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