Class War: Which schools had the highest number of assaults, weapons reported to NSW Police

‘Violence, weapons in schools’: The Class War series can reveal the school communities with the highest number of assaults and weapons reported to police. See where your school ranks.

Shocking new statistics have revealed the state’s most violent school communities are in the heart of Sydney’s west and southwestern suburbs, while the number of schoolyard bashings reported across NSW has tripled in the past decade.

It comes as experts say services for children with violent tendencies are struggling to meet demand – particularly in the bush – and the system has “failed our children”.

The Daily Telegraph’sClass War series can reveal the state’s most violent school communities, as the number of violence-related incidents reported to NSW Education and NSW Police skyrocketed to a massive 1694 reports in 2022 – up from 457 in 2012.

The Daily Telegraph's Class War investigation

Police were notified of 43 incidents of violence in Eastern Creek in 2022, while 41 incidents were reported in Campbelltown. Schools in Mount Druitt saw 36 acts of violence, with the same number of violent attacks reported in Tuggerah Lakes.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal the startling number of weapons confiscated from students in NSW schools last year, with 345 incidents reported to NSW Police and education authorities.

The figure, uncovered in sensitive cabinet documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph, also revealed Covid learn-from-home provisions resulted in a surge breaker for violent incidents at schools.

Police and education representatives were notified of 412 weapon-related incidents in 2019, before reported incidents dropped to 48 reported incidents in 2020 and 38 in 2021.

Greater western Sydney schools saw the highest number of incidents where weapons were produced on school grounds, schools in the ‘Cowpasture’ principal network in Sydney’s southwest reported 14 weapon related incidents in 2022, followed by 11 weapons produced in Mt Druitt schools, 10 in Eastern Creek, nine in Fairfield, Queanbeyan and ‘St Andrews’ principal networks.

The number of reported weapons inside schools comes as the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research revealed a 10-year high for conviction for prohibited and regulated weapons offences on school grounds, increasing from 54 convictions in 2014 to 101 in the year to March 2023.

The number of incidents come from a cohort of are more than 795,000 students across 2,200 NSW public schools.

Jacqueline Emery, RFW CEO, at the launch of the Resilient Kids Toolkit, at Royal Far West, in Manly, today. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

The latest data comes as children with violent tendencies are being forced onto three-year waitlists for specialist treatment services, or being refused access to paediatric specialists altogether.

Royal Far West chief executive Jacqueline Emery said specialist youth services, ranging from developmental to mental health support, were “absolutely vital for the wellbeing our young people”.

“But if you’re a parent of a child in Dubbo, you can’t get your child into an outpatient clinic because they have completely closed their books,” Ms Emery said. “The situation is also just as bad in Wagga, where kids are being refused services unless they have a particular health care card.

“In Bega and Orange, waitlists have ballooned out to 700 children and two and a half years, while in Tamworth, parents are facing a three-year wait for critical services.

“By the time the child is seen in the public system, its simply too late, we’ve failed our children.”

Ms Emery said the growing number of kids with mental health disorders in NSW schools had a direct result on the number of violent incidents.

“More than 60 per cent of children aged five to 14 have reported a worsening of their mental health since returning to the classroom post Covid,” she said.

Meanwhile, NSW Police acting assistant commissioner, Chad Gillies, told The Daily Telegraph parents of every school-aged child across the state were contacted to address the issue of “Gel-Blaster firearms” in schools.

“This was a preventative strategy advising parents and students that Gel-Blaster firearms, which can be purchased in other states, are illegal in NSW,” he said.

A NSW Education spokesman argued many weapon incident reports “relate to situations where students brought an item, such as a butter knife in their lunch box, to school not understanding that it is prohibited in schools”.

Acting assistant commissioner Chad Gillies. Picture: Newscorp: Daily Telegraph/ Gaye Gerard

“The moment an item like this is found it is reported, even if no violence or bad behaviour took place,” he said. “Schools are dealing with a greater number of complex issues than before and are encouraged to report incidents to ensure they receive timely specialist advice, early intervention, effective management and the right support.”

A NSW Health spokesman said children with developmental delays and their families often require support from a range of health professionals to help them achieve and stay on track with developmental milestones.

“Affordable and timely access to quality child development services is a whole of sector responsibility shared by the public health system, private providers, primary care and funded non−government organisations (NGOs),” the spokesman said.

“NSW Health local health districts and the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network manage access to their child development services – each district has strategies to manage referrals, including prioritisation.

“NSW Health provides funding to the Royal Far West to deliver a provide a Paediatric

Development Program (PDP) for children with complex needs in rural and remote NSW.”