A member of staff at Pen-y-Cwm special school in Ebbw Vale has claimed that two colleagues required hospital treatment following an incident at the school last week, prompting major concerns about staff safety.
Blaenau Gwent Council said it is supporting staff after the incident at the school, which caters for pupils aged three to 19. The staff union Unison said it is working with the local authority and the school to address what it described as "concerns about staff safety".
Staff describe daily violence
One member of staff, who did not want to be identified for fear of losing their job, said violence and aggression are a daily occurrence at the school. The incident, which took place on the school's post-16 site, resulted in a number of staff being injured, including one who was bitten, and two needing hospital treatment. A pupil was excluded, they said.
The staff member described "longstanding safeguarding concerns" at Pen-y-Cwm and said "staff are at breaking point." They added: "There are violent and aggressive instances every day on both sites. This has been going on for years. Pupils are increasingly needy and the site is not appropriate. Two of the hurt staff are Unison members. Unison and the LEA have been in."
Council response
Asked about the incident and whether it could confirm the injuries and concerns raised by the staff member, the council said in a statement: "Pen-y-Cwm is a school for children and young people with additional and complex needs. It can often be a challenging environment and our staff do an exceptional job supporting pupils and their families. The safety and wellbeing of staff is a priority, risk assessments are in place, and we take any incidents at our schools extremely seriously.
"All reported incidents of violence and aggression in schools are reviewed and appropriate interventions put in place where required. We are aware of an incident last week and have been supporting the staff involved. We have worked with the school to establish the full circumstances of the incident and are reassured that measures have been put in place as a result. The council has a violence and aggression working group which works to identify any support or training required by schools. Work is ongoing to raise awareness of reporting procedures and reinforce the importance of reporting all incidents consistently and promptly."
Unison and school context
Unison branch chair Dave Rees said: "The branch is currently working with the local authority, the school and the school community to address any concerns about staff safety, and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."
The school, which had 167 pupils at the time of its last Estyn report in 2024, takes children and teenagers with speech, communication, and language difficulties and/or a learning difficulty. A majority of pupils with a learning difficulty have a severe learning difficulty and around a fifth have a moderate learning difficulty, the inspectorate notes. "Very few have profound and multiple learning difficulties. Around half of pupils have autism. A minority have social, emotional, and behavioural needs. Very few pupils have a sensory impairment."
A follow-up visit by Estyn in July this year found that since the core inspection in 2025 Pen-y-Cwm "has made worthwhile progress in strengthening leadership, governance and improvement planning." The letter to the school after that visit, published by Estyn, added: "Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the school's context and the challenges associated with a growing population of pupils with increasingly complex needs. Despite significant ongoing pressures relating to accommodation, capacity and finance, leaders maintain a strong focus on improving outcomes and provision for pupils."
