Globally there are 13 million child refugees who have been forcibly displaced by war and conflict. For these children school is a crucial environment where they can build a sense of normality and identity. However, school is also where children may experience violence, and teachers are common perpetrators. In refugee settings risk of violence is even higher due to histories of trauma, widespread insecurity, and weak protective and response systems. This PhD aims to examine ways to address teacher violence in a refugee setting to advance our understanding of how violence against children in school can be prevented in fragile contexts. I use novel data to show that violence against children is widespread in schools in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania and that, in contrast with initial hypotheses, school climate is generally not associated with children’s experiences of violence. A cluster randomised controlled trial and process evaluation of the EmpaTeach intervention to prevent teacher violence in primary and secondary schools demonstrate that, although teachers participated in intervention activities and adopted positive discipline and classroom management strategies, they failed to replace use of violence with these newly adopted practices. There was no evidence of an effect of the intervention on children’s experiences of emotional and physical violence from teachers and the intervention did not generate changes in teachers’ socio-emotional skills hypothesised to be on the pathway to lower levels of violence. Finally, I examine the applicability of an indirect elicitation technique to estimate teacher use of corporal punishment, showing that in a context where violence is formally sanctioned but highly normalised, direct questioning may offer a valid measurement approach. As a whole this PhD demonstrates that violence against children in school in refugee settings is a pervasive issue and that schools are not inherently protective. Schools’ ability to provide safe spaces for children depends on a multitude of factors and prevention interventions must engage with this complexity to be effective. I discuss implications for future research and practice, highlighting that schools still offer an important platform to prevent violence against children, especially in the context of protracted refugee crises.