The husband of a teacher who was stabbed by a pupil at a school in West Wales has called for urgent action to tackle behaviour.
This article contains descriptions some readers may find distressing.
Liz Hopkin was stabbed by a teenage girl at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Carmarthenshire, last April. Fellow teacher Fiona Elias and a pupil were also stabbed in the incident.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was detained for 15 years last month after she was convicted of three counts of attempted murder.
Mrs Hopkin attempted to restrain the pupil after her colleague was stabbed in an outdoor area of the school during the mid-morning break on 24 April 2024.
Recalling the day he saw his wife Liz “in a pool of blood”, John Hopkin described the scene as “hectic”.
“Then she just assumed she was dying, so she was just apologising for going,” Mr Hopkin told Sky News.
“And that’s when, not so much panic hit, but I didn’t really know what was going on after that.”
The impact of the events of that day continue to have a profound effect on Mrs Hopkin and her family.
“It’s completely changed our whole life and family life,” Mr Hopkin said.
“Physically, [Liz is] recovering but…it’s just knocked her right back and I think it’s not going to be a quick process to get over that.”
‘Watershed moment’
Mr Hopkin is calling for an independent inquiry into what happened at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.
“I’m not bothered about accountability or blame, and Liz is neither,” he added.
“But what we do want is to see if there was anything that was done wrong to stop it happening again.
“It won’t happen in Dyffryn Aman, touch wood, but somewhere in Wales and somewhere in England, it will happen again.”
Carmarthenshire County Council told Sky News an “independently led review” is now under way following the conclusion of the trial.
The council’s cabinet member for education and the Welsh language, Glynog Davies, said the review would “ensure any good practice is highlighted and shared and that any lessons learnt are identified”.
Cllr Davies said the local authority had supported the victims as well as “the wider school community”, with that support continuing “in individual and bespoke ways”.
A Welsh government summit is taking place on Thursday, which will focus on behaviour in schools.
Mr Hopkin hopes the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman will be “a watershed moment” and believes the Welsh government can take urgent steps to tackle pupil behaviour.
Having worked in nine secondary schools all over Wales, Mr Hopkin says greater communication with teachers is needed and that a consistent approach is key.
“Every single school deals with behaviour differently,” Mr Hopkin said.
“We’ve got a government that doesn’t want to lead on this and is stopping schools from treating behaviour consistently.
“It’s a big issue and I don’t think that the summit on its own is going to come up with the answers.”
He also called for a Wales-wide ban on smartphones in schools to improve behaviour.
In March, a Senedd committee rejected a petition calling for a ban and instead recommended clearer guidance for schools.
Plans to prohibit the use of mobile phones in England’s schools were dropped last year.
“Banning mobile phones in schools would make a massive difference,” Mr Hopkin added.
“And you can see schools that have banned them have found a really positive improvement in behaviour.”
Mr Hopkin also said that the problems facing schools in Wales were no “different” to other areas of the UK.
“I think the Welsh government are reluctant to agree that the problems that are facing Wales are the same as the problems that face anywhere in England, whether it’s in a city or in the countryside,” he said.
“The problems are everywhere, we’re not protected by a big bubble.”
‘Sustained investment’
Teaching unions have welcomed the summit but are calling for increased investment to tackle challenging behaviour.
Nicola Fitzpatrick, interim Wales secretary for the National Education Union (NEU), told Sky News that its members wanted to see “action” from the government.
“Unless increased and sustained investment is secured, then we just hinder the ability of all stakeholders to urgently address the issues in a way that meet the needs of learners, but crucially that keeps all staff and students safe,” she said.
“So we’d like to see some strong, clear, collaborative guidance that’s consistent across all local authorities in Wales – that there aren’t 22 different ways to do it – and that good practice and collaborative practice is shared.”
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The Welsh government told Sky News that schools in Wales are “dealing with a whole range of wider societal issues on a daily basis and there is no one solution”.
“The summit is part of a longer program of work which includes our recent roundtable on violence and safety in schools and colleges and the commitment to provide clear guidance on the use of mobile phones,” it said in a statement.
“We are committed to finding solutions in partnership and making the changes needed in our schools.”
