Students suspended for using weapons at school
Queensland school children were suspended or excluded for possessing weapons on almost 4000 separate occasions last year.
Documents obtained exclusively under Right to Information legislation identify the dangerous items being used to attack or menace staff and students.
Kevin Bates has spent 27 years as a teacher in Queensland classrooms. He claims school gates don't keep the dangers out.
"As we are seeing more weapons based offences in the community that's being reflected in the school," The Queensland Teachers' Union President said.
In 2011, 3901 children were suspended or excluded from Queensland schools for physical misconduct involving an 'object'. In 2012 the number rose to 3991.
7News has obtained hundreds of statements made by school staff.
One boy had six pairs of scissors in his pockets. Another had five the principal remarked the child had brought them. There are dozens of accounts where teachers put their lives on the line.
"Teachers don't get any training to prepare them for these sorts of situations, unlike our police force," Mr Bates said.
It proves to be costly as well - stress leave for teachers, counselling for staff and the student involved and in some cases for entire classrooms of children who are left disturbed by what they were forced to witness
This account is from a young girl who had been in the playground.
"He has a knife! He is chasing us with a knife and he is trying to hold us!"
When a student has a weapon and is showing signs of extreme agitation, classrooms or entire schools are often put into lockdown. The investigation revealed one incident where a primary school was locked down - the offender was just four-year- old.
Last week - a bill was put before Queensland Parliament to give school principals greater powers to suspend or exclude problem students.
The Minister says the whole community can do more to make schools safer.
"It's unlikely that we are going to be able to stamp them out completely just as we can't stamp them out of our society overall," John-Paul Langbroek said.
"But with 500,000 students and thousands and thousands of teachers and parents involved, I know that we'll do as much as we can to get rid of these incidents altogether."
