Some school staff are being assaulted “on a daily basis”, Scotland’s education secretary has been warned.

In response, John Swinney said that violence towards teachers was rare and that pupils were generally well behaved,

In the Scottish Parliament today, Midlothian MSP Neil Findlay, a former teacher, said: “I have been approached by constituents who work in our schools and who are assaulted by pupils on a daily basis - I do not exaggerate that point. Will the cabinet secretary give us some advice on how people who are in that situation should deal with that violence?”

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Mr Swinney said: “There are unacceptable instances of violence in our schools that must be tackled immediately by school leadership. However, the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that teachers generally find pupils to be well behaved and that violence towards teachers is rare.

Student attacks on teachers

“When there is unacceptable behaviour, we should tackle the underlying reasons for that behaviour as part of a programme of early intervention to address the behaviour of young people, so that staff can undertake their work safely and securely, and to ensure that other pupils are safe into the bargain. That approach should be being taken in all schools, and I am confident that it is.”

The issue was raised initially by South Scotland Conservative MSP Michelle Ballantyne, who said: “I was recently contacted by a teacher with 30 years’ experience, who is currently working as a supply teacher. She was hospitalised after a metal implement was thrown and damaged her eye.

“Violence in schools is causing teachers to think twice about their careers. We know that we are struggling, because we learned at Christmas that more than £60 million has been spent to recruit supply teachers. Does the cabinet secretary recognise that violence in schools is deterring some teachers from pursuing their chosen profession?”

Mr Swinney said he took the issue of violence in schools “extremely seriously” but added that “we have to look at the evidence”.

“There are unacceptable incidents, but the overwhelming evidence, as demonstrated in the report Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2016, which was published in December 2017, indicates that teachers generally find pupils to be well behaved and that violence towards teachers is very rare,” he said.

“We have to be careful about the narrative on Scottish education. If there are unacceptable incidents of violence, they will be dealt with, but, overwhelmingly, the behaviour of our young people in our schools is good. They are a credit to our country, and we should celebrate that while tackling unacceptable behaviour when it arises.”