A senior INTO official has described as very regrettable that a West Clare Teacher was assaulted during the course of his work.
Mid West Spokesperson for the teaching union Sean McMahon was speaking in the wake of last week’s district court hearing during which a parent was found guilty of punching the principal of Labasheeda National School.
Assaults on teachers is due to be raised at a special INTO conference in a fortnight’s time.
Last Tuesday Martin Tubridy of Quarry Vale House, Mountshannon, Labasheeda was found guilty of assaulting Labasheeda School Principal Liam Wolfe at the door of his classroom on December 9th 2011.
The 55 year old was ordered to pay 400 euro in expenses to Mr Woulfe and the case was also adjourned to April to allow mediation to take place.
Speaking in the aftermath – Mid West INTO Representative and Principal of Mullagh National School Sean McMahon described the incident as very regrettable.
Mr Mc Mahon described Liam Woulfe as a very effective school principal with a wealth of experience and would be more than amenable to discussion.
He went on to say that in his experience such assaults are "rare but very frightening for the teacher concerned and can also be traumatic for the wider school.
Sean McMahon’s comments come ahead of a special INTO conference in Dublin on December 8th regarding assaults on teachers.
The one-day event aims to draw up a policy document and guidelines to address the issue.
