Article content

Educators at Ottawa’s English school boards can wear shin and forearm guards, foam-padded jackets and reinforced gloves to protect themselves from students who bite, kick, scratch and punch.

The “personal protective equipment” is employed as a last resort, say spokespeople for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa educators offered padded shirts, arm and shin guards to protect themselves from violent students Back to video

Currently, about 45 educators in the English public board use the equipment, mainly educational assistants, says spokesperson Sharlene Hunter. Educational assistants help children with special needs and behaviour problems.

The Catholic board maintains a “wide inventory” of protective equipment, says spokesperson Mardi de Kemp. It’s usually employed on a temporary basis or for a specific period of time, she says. Board officials did not have information on how many staff are currently using protective equipment.

The use of personal protective equipment at schools has been steadily increasing across Ontario, says Laura Walton, president of a union that represents 55,000 educational assistants and other educators in the province’s four school systems. “We’ve had it for a long time, but It’s just becoming more and more prevalent.”