Disabled pupils 'causing violence'

A long-standing policy of integrating disabled children into mainstream classrooms should be reviewed because teaching assistants are facing increased violence, their union has warned.

The Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union, now in a pay dispute with the State Government, said education assistants were being punched, kicked, scratched and bitten by students with disabilities.

Other students were also missing out because teachers were focused on the pupils with higher needs.

LHMU secretary Dave Kelly said mainstream schools sometimes could not offer students with disabilities the support they required or provide a safe working environment.

"Students who have violent episodes should be offered appropriate care in better-resourced centres which better cater to their specific needs," he said.

Workers said the frequency of violent attacks had increased.

Education Department deputy director-general Margery Evans said there had been an increase in the number of students diagnosed with a disability enrolled at WA schools in the past 10 years.

Parents of children with an intellectual disability had been able to enrol their child at a local school instead of a support centre since 2005. It was unlawful to exclude a child on the basis of a disability.

"Classroom teachers are expected to have the skills and expertise to make sure teaching programs meet the needs of individual students, including those with disabilities," Ms Evans said. "A range of additional support is always available."

Education Minister Liz Constable said the Government provided training and support to meet students' needs and provide a safe environment.

WA Primary Principals Association president Stephen Breen said there should be a debate about the challenges facing mainstream schools from the increase in the number of children with severe disabilities.

WA Council of State School Organisations president Rob Fry said it believed in integration instead of segregation.

"It's always a balancing act," he said. "The Government needs to recognise that children with disabilities need extra support." .

State School Teachers Union president Anne Gisborne said it was unfair to expect teachers working with children with special needs to have to put up with assaults.