August 11: Violence seeps into schools and teachers are left to run the gauntlet

TEACHERS today face a number of challenges when it comes to turning out children who are equipped for the modern world. One of the most considerable is maintaining the discipline necessary to create an environment in which all youngsters can thrive.

Yet the stabbing of Yorkshire schoolteacher Vincent Uzomah by a 14-year-old pupil – hard on the heels of the tragic killing of Leeds teacher Ann Maguire – is an indication that educators no longer simply have to contend with classroom disobedience but must increasingly run the gauntlet of physical violence.

Figures reveal that teachers are the target of hostility and aggression on a regular basis, with an average of 55 assaults carried out by children as young as four in every school day – and the numbers are rising.

It is no coincidence that youngsters today grow up surrounded by violence on television, in films and – most significantly – in video games. And while the producers of such games insist it is wrong to link violence enacted on screen with that seen on our streets or in our schools, there can be little doubt that this bloodthirsty content blurs the lines of distinction between those two worlds in young, impressionable minds, desensitising them to the horrors they are able to inflict at the click of a button in their bedrooms.

The sentence of 11 years’ detention that has been passed on Vincent Uzomah’s attacker sends out a strong message on the seriousness of teacher assaults – one that schools and parents must now drive home.

However, as long as popular culture depicts appalling violence as routine, and anti-authoritarian hoodlums as heroes, then it is inevitable that growing numbers of young people will continue to exhibit such extreme behaviour and that calls for airport-style metal detectors to detect knives and guns in our schools will grow louder.

Breach of contract

Councils keep losing our data

THERE can be no question that the advent of modern technology has made our lives simpler in many ways. In embracing the advantages offered by this new digital landscape, we have also accepted that it often means having to share our personal information in order to make best use of it.

However, this is a two-way transaction. When we part with details about ourselves and our families it is done so on the basis that those who store them will do so with the utmost care and consideration.

Yet there continues to be serious cause for concern that many organisations have failed to catch up with the responsibilities this brave new world demands of them.

New research reveals that local authorities are losing our personal data at an alarming rate, recording almost four security breaches a day.

The study by privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch found that information was being mislaid, stolen – almost invariably due to it not being treated with the sensitivity it demands.

In some instances, breaches were as a result of nosey parker council workers satisfying their own curiosity.

Just as troubling is the near absence of sanctions when individuals are found to be at fault. Just one in 10 breaches resulted in disciplinary action and only one led to a prosecution.

It is inevitable that people will make mistakes. However, the fact that these breaches are happening on such a regular basis demonstrates a shocking lack of security that is completely unacceptable – particularly considering the sensitive nature of the data that such organisations are handling.

Tough Tykes

Yorkshire out-grit Australians

HAVING endured a barren 13-year period before last summer’s lifting of cricket’s county championship, Yorkshire now look destined to make it back-to-back titles.

Such is the team’s dominance that they lead the table by 50 points with a game in hand on their nearest rivals.

Yet their march to this position of ascendancy has not been without its rocky moments.

Their latest victory, over Durham, saw them twice recover from perilous positions at 95-9 and 79-5 in their respective innings.

The Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, says this resilience and never-say-die attitude reminds him of the great Australian teams in which he starred.

He stopped short of saying that the current incumbents of the baggy green would benefit from a similar dose of grit, but it’s hard not to wonder how the hapless Aussies of 2015 would fare against this fine Yorkshire side. Would they, for instance, manage to muster more than 60 runs?