More concerns about rising violence in Scottish schools have emerged after the Fife branch of the EIS teaching union published a survey of 537 teachers.
Some 94 per cent of respondents said they have been involved in violent and aggressive incidents in the past four years and 61 per cent have been assaulted in that time.
Funding cuts and the Covid pandemic are largely responsible for the problems, the union says.
It warns that the findings, which reflect the experiences of about one-sixth of EIS members in Fife, show the “urgent” need for action.
Violence in Scottish schools
The survey, which drew more than half of its responses (303) from the primary school sector, also highlights that violence and aggression may not come only from pupils but also from members of pupils’ families.
The EIS Fife branch told Tes Scotland that while only eight of the reported incidents involved parents, “we have been getting more reports from members to the office, especially abuse via social media”.
In the poll, 48 per cent of respondents reported that violent and aggressive incidents were a daily occurrence in school; 28 per cent reported that there were violent and aggressive incidents every week.
Fife Council figures show more than 30 violent and aggressive incidents happening daily across its schools and early learning centres, EIS Fife said, but “many incidents are...going unreported as staff cannot find the time to report incidents when they happen so regularly”.
EIS Fife highlighted incidents of pushing or shoving, teachers being struck with an object, kicking, punching, biting and spitting. The most commonly reported non-physical aggressive behaviour involved threats, swearing, mockery and sexism.
The union carried out the survey after seeing a “sharp rise” in reports of violent and aggressive incidents since the Covid pandemic. It acknowledged that there had been an “action plan” in Fife since last year and that the Scottish government had in August also published a plan to address behaviour.
At the time education secretary Jenny Gilruth - whose constituency is Mid-Fife and Glenrothes - said the national plan would “ensure that both pupils and staff are safe and supported”.
‘Real and sustained crisis in many schools’
Graeme Keir, EIS Fife’s publicity officer, said the new survey shows “a real and sustained crisis in many Fife schools”.
He added: “Violence and aggression are completely unacceptable in our schools, and teachers have been working flat out to address the issues.
“However, all teachers know that action plans and devoted teachers cannot alone alleviate these problems unless there is also an increase in staffing.”
Mr Keir highlighted factors including “over 14 years of cuts”, which meant “there were not enough staff to cope with the impact of the pandemic”.
He said that “Fife already has one of the lowest per-head spends on education and we are threatened with more cuts next financial year”, and appealed for “everyone reading this to write to their local councillor and MSP asking for more resources in schools”.
Jane McKeown, secretary of Fife EIS, said: “We’ve been working constructively with Fife Council for some time on these issues. We have made some progress, but these survey results show clearly that much work is still to be done - and the work is urgent.”
Ms McKeown described the number of violent and aggressive incidents in Fife schools as “alarmingly high and increasing”. She added that in some schools this has been the case “for some time” and “clear problems...don’t seem to be being addressed quickly”.
Problems ‘not unique to Fife’
Donald Macleod, executive education director at Fife Council, said: “This issue isn’t unique to Fife. We know that teachers and school communities across Scotland are concerned about violent incidents in schools, and it’s something we’re taking very seriously.
“Any form of violence is unacceptable, and we’re committed to safe working practices and training for our staff.”
Mr MacLeod added: “Some of our schools are facing specific challenges and we give targeted support to schools where or when it’s needed.”
He pointed to “a huge amount of work” underway in schools to tackle violence, with help from the police, Fife NHS and the Health and Social Care Partnership.
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