Some teachers are ending up in hospital with broken bones as a result of increasing levels of violence in schools, a union leader has warned.
David Belsey, assistant secretary of the EIS, Scotland’s biggest teaching union, said teachers are also suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after violent incidents.
He made his comments as three teachers in Aberdeen spoke to the BBC anonymously about their fears of student attacks.
Violence against teachers in schools
The EIS is calling for Aberdeen City Council to take action to tackle violence in schools. It is also campaigning nationally for more help for pupils with additional support needs the current lack of support, it says, is contributing to the rising number of violent incidents.
The union also wants a focus on addressing distressed, violent and aggressive pupil behaviour, with the provision of adequate resources and clear guidance on how schools and councils should respond.
In November a report from the EIS warned that pupil violence has increased over the past four years, with 82.7 per cent of schools now reporting violent or aggressive incidents each week.
That report was followed by government-funded research, which found “a general worsening of pupil behaviour” in Scotland since 2016.
Negative behaviours were, the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR) report found, more commonly reported in secondary schools than primary schools. The exceptions were physical aggression and violence, both directed at other pupils and towards staff: these were more often experienced in primary schools than in secondary schools.
Mr Belsey told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme: “We deal with teachers who have been assaulted and go to hospital with broken bones.
“And that’s without, of course, the post-traumatic stress disorders and the effects on teachers’ mental health after long-term dealing with very aggressive situations in classes.”
He said there is a need to accept that behaviour has got worse, with a number of factors potentially contributing to this. These included staff shortages, the influence of social media and the impact of the pandemic.
School staff ‘scared at work’
One of the teachers who spoke to the BBC said she was “scared in my workplace”, while another said that an incident had left her with concussion.
Aberdeen City Council education convener Martin Greig said feedback from staff would be considered.
He told the BBC: “Everyone who visits and uses a school environment is entitled to expect that place to be a safe, peaceful, respectful environment.”
He added: “There’s always more that you can do, and we are absolutely keen to do whatever is necessary to ensure that environment feels safe for all; for staff, for parents and carers and especially for the young people.”
In May education secretary Jenny Gilruth announced that she would convene a series of summits on violence in schools. However, in the wake of the publication of the BISSR report in November, she came under fire from opposition politicians for announcing the development of a plan to address the problem “rather than a plan”.
In January Ms Gilruth said that the promised national action plan on behaviour in Scottish schools would be published “early this year”.
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