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Assault

This guidance may apply to assaults involving pupils, staff, or other members of the school community, whether the incident takes place on the school site, during the school day, while in uniform, or as part of a school-related activity.

Step 1 – Determine the offence category

To assist you in determining the offence category use the following factors listed below. To do this fairly you should assess culpability and harm.

 

Culpability

The level of culpability or blame is worked out by looking at all the factors involved in the incident. If there are elements that point to different levels of blame, you should weigh these up carefully and give the most relevant ones the right amount of importance to reach a fair judgement about the person’s level of responsibility.

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A – High culpability

  • A significant degree of planning or premeditation

  • Assault targeted at a member of staff

  • Victim vulnerable due to age, disability, personal characteristics, or circumstances

  • Use of a weapon or weapon equivalent

  • Use of an object to cause injury or fear

  • Leading role in a group assault

  • Prolonged or persistent assault

  • Repeated blows, kicks, or strikes

  • Assault carried out after an earlier opportunity to withdraw

  • Assault motivated by hostility towards a protected characteristic

  • Assault committed in a way likely to cause significant fear or alarm to others

B – Medium culpability

  • Deliberate assault without significant planning

  • No weapon used, but clear intent to cause harm

  • More than minimal force used

  • Secondary or supporting role in a group assault

  • Assault arising from confrontation but not amounting to the highest level of culpability

  • Incident falling between categories A and C

C – Lesser culpability

  • Impulsive, spontaneous, and short-lived assault

  • Lower-level force used

  • Excessive self-defence

  • Limited level of intent to cause harm

  • Pupil’s responsibility reduced by age, immaturity, learning difficulty, or personal circumstances

  • Assault committed in the context of having received continuous bullying, intimidation, or verbal abuse

  • Single act with no continuation of the assault once the immediate incident had ended

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Harm

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Harm 1

  • Serious physical injury

  • Serious psychological harm and/or substantial impact upon the victim

  • Assault causing ongoing pain, visible injury, or need for medical treatment

  • Significant distress caused to staff or pupils witnessing the incident

  • Serious impact on the victim’s sense of safety in school

  • Serious disruption to the school environment

Harm 2​

  • Injury or psychological harm that is more than minor but does not reach the seriousness of Harm 1

  • Moderate impact on the victim

  • Harm falling between categories 1 and 3 because:

  • factors are present in 1 and 3 which balance each other out and/or

  • the harm falls between the factors described in 1 and 3

Harm 3

  • Some level of physical injury or psychological harm with limited impact on the victim

  • No lasting injury

  • Lower-level distress caused

  • Limited wider impact on the school community​​

Step 2 – Starting point and category range
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Step 3 – Take into consideration Aggravating and Mitigating factors

The school could consider any adjustment for any aggravating or mitigating factors. Below is a non-exhaustive list of additional factual elements providing the context of the offence and factors relating to the offender.

Identify whether any combination of these, or other relevant factors, should result in an upward or downward adjustment from the starting point of punitive action.

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Factors increasing seriousness (Aggravation Factors)

  • Previous similar offences or a pattern of violent behaviour

  • Nature of a previous offence and its relevance to the current offence

  • Time elapsed since previous offences

  • Verbal threats made before, during, or after the assault

  • Assault directed towards a member of staff

  • Assault committed in school or while in school uniform

  • Assault committed in the presence of others, especially younger pupils or the general public

  • Taking a lead role in a group assault

  • Recording, sharing, or encouraging the incident through social media

  • Failure to comply with previous school sanctions

  • Attempts to conceal involvement or unwillingness to admit the offence

  • Retaliatory assault after an earlier incident had ended

  • Incident taking place during a period of heightened tension, unrest, or previous conflict

  • Impact on the reputation of the school

 

Factors reducing seriousness or reflecting personal mitigation

  • No previous similar offences or no relevant/recent offences

  • Genuine remorse

  • Good character and/or exemplary conduct

  • Isolated incident

  • Age and/or lack of maturity

  • Learning difficulties or Additional Learning Needs

  • Clear evidence of provocation, bullying, or intimidation leading up to the incident

  • Limited role in the incident

  • Early admission and cooperation

  • Family circumstances

  • Safeguarding issues should be considered separately and are not necessarily mitigating factors.

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​Step 4 – Adjust the starting point and category range

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Having taken into consideration all aggravating and mitigating factors adjust the starting point as deemed best fit.

Where the assault involves serious injury, a member of staff, a vulnerable victim, repeated violence, or a weapon, an upward adjustment is likely to be appropriate.

 

Where the incident is isolated, lower-level, and short-lived, with genuine remorse and limited harm caused, a downward adjustment may be appropriate.

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Safeguarding issues should be considered separately and are not necessarily mitigating factors.

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