Data Description:

NSW public schools are among the safest places in our community, with over 2,200 schools service more than 785,000 students and supported by over 99,000 staff. However, from time to time, incidents do affect schools just as they affect communities and society as a whole.

The Department of Education actively promotes the importance of incident reporting, requiring that all incidents and injuries be reported according to the Incident Notification and Response Policy. This reporting is crucial for receiving support and for the department to effectively respond to incidents.

The data provides information on incident reports in NSW government schools, organised by operational directorate, principal network and incident categories, along with individual incident reports. This is based on reports of incidents, not charges or convictions.

Data notes:

• The categories of incidents that are reported by schools include drugs, technology, violence, weapons and welfare.

  • Criminal activity: Common incidents include bomb threats, indecent exposure, theft and transport-related issues.
  • Emergency situations: These involve incidents that disrupt school operations, like natural disasters or emergencies during excursions, requiring activation of emergency plans.
  • Malicious use of technology: This covers inappropriate use of all technologies, including cyberbullying, hacking and misuse of social media.
  • Substance incidents: This includes possession or use of illegal substances and drug paraphernalia on school grounds.
  • Violence: Covers all assaults, threats, intimidation and allegations of sexual assault.
  • Weapons: Includes possession or use of knives, firearms and any items that can cause harm as defined in the Weapons Prohibition Act.
  • Welfare: Concern the safety and wellbeing of students and staff, including issues like child protection, harmful behaviours and traumatic incidents such as self-harm.

When an incident occurs, all workers must actively respond in accordance with the Work health and safety policy and these procedures. This includes the timely reporting of incidents, injuries, hazards or near misses involving workers, students and/or visitors.

Timely reporting ensures necessary support is provided and assists the department in fulfilling its legislative obligations.

Additional reporting requirements may not be the responsibility of the initial reporter. Staff should discuss with their workplace managers before proceeding. Any information provided to the Incident Report and Support Hotline may be shared with other business units, including public schools, Legal Services, Media unit, Child Wellbeing Unit, Information Technology Directorate, School Infrastructure NSW and other appropriate entities. Information sharing is in line with privacy laws.

There are specific reporting mechanisms relating to child protection, cyber security, urgent maintenance, allegations against staff, major complaints and media coverage.

Data Overview:

• Incidents are classified into specific categories such as criminal activity, violence, substance incidents, weapons, welfare, emergency situations and malicious use of technology.
• The number of incidents is reported by school term and data is organised under eight operational directorates and 110 principal networks.

Data is reported biannually for Terms 1 & 2 and Terms 3 & 4 each year for the incident reports received in those semester periods and the subsequent holiday.

Trends and Observations:

• The number of incidents that are reported from one date range to the next do vary and this is an expected fluctuation due to the relatively small number of incidents that are reported from more than 2,200 schools with a student population in excess of 785,000.
• In 2023, there were a total of 5,672 incidents reported among over 785,000 students in NSW government schools, which equates to approximately 72 incidents per 10,000 students. This does not include incidents reported as emergency situations.
• The data shows a constant increase in the number of reported incidents throughout 2023. This trend indicates that the department is actively promoting awareness and encouraging incident reporting, fostering a culture of openness and support.
• Among the reported incidents, violence remains the most significant category. This represents a substantial portion of the total incidents reported, showcasing the prevalence of this issue across the school system.

Limitations:

Given the number of incidents that are reported, this data has been filtered to include incidents primarily impacting schools, the school grounds and school activity.

References have been removed which could expose a person to a risk of harm or which reveal the identities, or the personal/health information of students, school staff and community members. Information that may prejudice an investigation has also been removed.

The 2023 school year was the second year not to be impacted by lockdowns or learning from home since 2019. Many of the impacts of these lockdowns are still observed in schools.

Further Reading:

Incident notification and response