A teacher at a Dublin school for children with special needs has called for 'assault leave' to be exempted from sick leave, saying she is frequently left 'black and blue' following incidents in her classroom.
Tracey Whyte, who teaches children with emotional and behavioural issues, told the INTO congress that she has been the victim of more than 20 physical assaults in the course of her work.
"I have been head-butted in the face on more than one occasion, punched in the nose and face; received a kick to the head more than once, been thumped in the arms; kicked in the legs and repeatedly punched in the stomach." the Clones native revealed.
"Children have spat in my face repeatedly." she added.
Ms Whyte recalled that she had "hobbled back to the classroom black and blue" after more than one incident, but while she loves her job, her biggest fear was that she would exhaust her sick leave.
"Nobody deserves to be physically assaulted." she said. "However, the greater insult is that when I'm assaulted I have to use my own personal sick leave.
"I was not sick. In fact, I was assaulted in the workplace. This is not the same thing. I want it classified from the beginning that it is assault leave and to be recognised as that."
