Secondary teachers are feeling more stressed about student behaviour than ever, members of a Scottish teaching union will hear this weekend.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), which holds its annual congress in Crieff on Friday and Saturday, is expected to demand that the Scottish government carry out an “urgent review of behaviour support and management in schools”.
A motion due to be debated on Saturday states: “More than ever, teachers report feeling stressed and vulnerable as a result of behaviour issues among pupils which are currently beyond schools’ ability to address.”
The motion adds: “Poor behaviour impacts negatively on learning and teaching and the wellbeing of the whole learning community. Teachers and pupils are entitled to a safe working and learning environment.
“Congress calls on the Scottish government to carry out an urgent review of behaviour support and management in schools to identify and fund additional resources that aim to ensure that teachers and pupils are fully supported.”
SSTA president Catherine Nicol, in her speech to the congress tomorrow, is expected to say that “deteriorating behaviour in schools” is one of the main issues the union has raised recently with education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.
Last November, a Scottish Parliament committee was told by the EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, that the behaviour of the youngest primary school pupils was an increasing cause of concern.
The motion at the SSTA conference follows the news earlier this week that teachers at a Glasgow secondary school were considering strike action if pupil behaviour did not improve.
Members of the NASUWT teaching union at Bannerman High have been taking action short of striking since October, claiming a lack of action by Glasgow City Council to tackle persistent violence towards staff.
NASUWT says that behaviour-management policies are not being followed and that there are few consequences for students who are persistently disruptive.
Teachers ‘increasingly worried’ about safety
NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach, whose union has 32 members at the school, said they were “increasingly worried for their personal safety and angry at the failure of their employer and Glasgow City Council to fulfil their duty to protect them and the majority of well-behaved pupils from violence and disruption”.
Dr Roach added: “The attitude appears to be one of blaming teachers for poor behaviour, rather than holding pupils accountable, and this is being aided and abetted by the misuse and abuse of restorative behaviour conversations, which members feel have become synonymous with no punishment or sanctions for unacceptable behaviour.”
He also said: “All our members want is to be able to get on with their jobs free from the threat of violence and abuse at work.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We do not condone abuse of any sort - either verbal or physical - that is directed towards our teachers or school staff, who deserve to feel respected and safe in their workplace.
“Young people who are not in school are not learning and although exclusions are unavoidable in certain circumstances, our schools work with pupils to find out why they are behaving in such a way and find solutions to support any child in need.”
The spokesperson added: “We will continue to work with unions and their members to make sure everyone feels valued and respected in their working environment and it is not true to say that the school management team are not supporting school staff.
“Any reported incidents are dealt with quickly and effectively and a resolution agreed.”
National data published in March confirmed that Scotland had recorded the lowest number of school exclusions in a year since current records began in 2002-03, although pupils were considerably more likely to be excluded in some parts of Scotland than others.
