Meeting of the Parliament 06 March 2024 [Draft]
Broken fingers, stitches, and significant knee damage—those are some of the injuries reported by Fife teachers to their local EIS branch. Across Fife last year, over 3,600 incidents of violence and aggression were reported in schools—those were physical incidents, violence, aggression and threat. We know that many more incidents of that type go unreported. Teachers are not reporting incidents of abuse as they do not believe that anything will be done about them. The people we trust to educate our children are at the point where abuse has become part of their job, which is simply not acceptable.
Violence in our schools, of course, is not just directed at teachers; nor does it stop at the school gate. We have all seen the coverage of horrific assaults on school pupils that have been shared on social media, including an attack in a classroom at Waid academy, and a 12-year-old from Ladybank who was beaten up on a bus on her way home from school. Among support staff, a GMB report found that one in six were suffering violence on a daily basis—being punched, kicked and spat on as they did their job.
I am being contacted by constituents who are concerned about increasingly disrespectful, disruptive and violent behaviour across primary and secondary schools. I am hearing from families whose children have been victims of violence and from those who have witnessed incidents. Children are telling their parents about how their learning is interrupted on a daily basis; pupils, parents and carers are concerned that schools are not a safe place to be. That is part of the national picture that the Scottish Government has a responsibility to address. Whether in Aberdeen or Aberfeldy, each one of our schools is part of an education system that has seen violence and disruptive behaviour increase. The range of contributing factors is broad, as is the required response, which must be underpinned by proper resources.
The Labour amendment draws attention to some of the wider context, including the lack of support for pupils with additional support needs. Figures from last year on the number of pupils in schools with ASN show that they represent well over a third of the pupil population, and the number has almost doubled in the past decade. However, during that time, related support provision has not increased. There have been budgetary cuts and a lack of on-going support not just for those with ASN but for the school staff working with them.
The Government amendment wants us to recognise the action that is being taken, but plan after plan does not mean that the necessary support is being delivered. Acknowledging the scale of the problem is only the first step, and, although the summits are a positive move, they took too long to happen and it must be demonstrated that they are more than talking shops. The publication this week of the framework on gender-based violence is welcome, but it highlights the importance of addressing underlying causes as well as demonstrating that instances of violence and abuse are not tolerated and should not be seen as part of school life.
Local councils are seeking to take steps where they can but they are doing so within budgetary constraints. In Fife, we have seen some positive action around increasing pupil support assistance time and through personal and social education on behaviours. The piloting of a model basing a social worker in secondary schools to work with young people who need extra support and plans to recruit more guidance staff are other examples of local action.
Peer work in schools is important. Although the publication of the framework on gender-based violence is welcome, we should recognise that the mentors in violence prevention programme has been working with young people to help them to challenge attitudes and behaviours safely in their schools and other parts of their lives. I know that many young people have found the programme valuable. In a recent meeting that I had with Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre in Kirkcaldy, it was very positive about the impact of the programme.
The steps that can be taken by local authorities and by schools need to be set within a national action plan. We need the creation of clear national guidance setting out that violent and abusive behaviour is simply not acceptable, that it will not be tolerated and that schools will be supported in dealing with those behaviours. We need to ensure that our schools are a safe place for learners and teachers to be and to thrive.
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