Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 06 March 2024 [Draft]
06 Mar 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Ending Violence in Schools
I am grateful to the Scottish Conservatives for securing this afternoon’s debate on ending violence in Scottish schools. The Government will agree to the Conservative motion, and it is in that spirit that I look forward to engaging with members throughout the debate. I have accepted the text of the Conservative motion because, in many ways, the parties that are represented across the chamber are not far apart on the issue. We are all striving for our schools and classrooms to be free from violence and disruption—for them to be places where our young people can learn and our teaching staff can work.
I am absolutely clear that our schools should be safe and consistent learning environments for all, and that no teacher or support assistant should face violence or abusive behaviour in their place of work. I also reiterate in the strongest possible terms my position on the need for more accurate recording of all incidents of inappropriate, abusive or violent behaviour in our schools, and I continue to encourage all schools to do that today.
It very much remains my view that we must continue to strengthen the evidence base that Liam Kerr spoke about in order to inform improvements at school and local authority level, even if that means that the number of reported incidents rises.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-12389, in the name of Liam Kerr, on ending violence in Scottish schools. 14:47
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
Presiding Officer, “Assaulted when 5 months pregnant—resulted in a bleed and hospital visit”; “I had a mild concussion last session, due to being struck wi...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
Liam Kerr has raised a number of issues that I hope to come to in my speech, but it is worth putting on the record that the EIS in Aberdeen had not sent me a...
Liam Kerr
Con
I do, but I also point out that I managed to get hold of the report. What concerned people was the cabinet secretary’s statement that said: “I don’t oversee...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
I am grateful to the Scottish Conservatives for securing this afternoon’s debate on ending violence in Scottish schools. The Government will agree to the Con...
Martin Whitfield (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Does Jenny Gilruth agree that there is a difference between the health and safety data on safety in schools and the data that she is talking about, which is ...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
There is, indeed, an important differentiation to be made in relation to that data. I agree with the member on that point. I wish to reflect on some of the ...
Liam Kerr
Con
I absolutely share the cabinet secretary’s concern about misogyny and its impacts. Regarding the response to that, I was really interested by the cabinet sec...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
It is important to say that restorative practices are part of a relational approach that has been proved to have an impact in respect of the preventative act...
Pam Duncan-Glancy (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary explain why no gendered analysis of that framework was done?
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I am happy to write to Pam Duncan-Glancy with more detail on that. Given the number of stakeholders—including Zero Tolerance and Rape Crisis Scotland—that we...
Pam Duncan-Glancy (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I apologise for arriving a wee bit late to the debate, Deputy Presiding Officer. Two weeks ago, the EIS survey of nearly 800 of its members in Aberdeen fou...
Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
SNP
Pam Duncan-Glancy and I are on the Education, Children and Young People Committee, and she will understand—as I do—that behaviour is communication. What woul...
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Lab
I thank Ruth Maguire for her intervention. She is quite right. We heard only this morning that distressed behaviour is almost always a communication. We woul...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Ms Duncan-Glancy, I have to ask you to bring your remarks to a close, please.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Lab
Support staff are providing help in corridors because there is nowhere to turn. Unions have solutions. Teachers have solutions. Scottish Labour has solutions...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
This is a human rights issue. It is often perceived that, if someone wants action to deal with behaviour, distress, violence or whatever we call it, they are...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We move to the open debate. Back-bench speeches should be of up to four minutes. 15:12
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I want to take a bit of a different tack and look at the issue through a wider lens. On Sunday, I had the great privilege of being at the world championship...
Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
SNP
It is important to note that the majority of Scotland’s pupils are well behaved. However, there has undoubtedly been a marked increase in disruptive behaviou...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
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 ye...
Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
SNP
It is one of those rare days in the Parliament when we all agree on the fact that no people, teacher or member of school staff should have to suffer abuse in...
Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I declare an interest as a former councillor on Moray Council. I will look at the matter from that perspective. I start by acknowledging the fact that many ...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
The recommendations in the EIS Aberdeen report, which are really important, are all for the local authority. It is important that the national action plan se...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Tim Eagle, I will give you the time back.
Tim Eagle
Con
I was about to come to that point. I accept that the Government and the local authority, and, for that matter, potentially the community, need to work toge...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I will use my time to focus on gender-based violence. Last summer, Zero Tolerance Scotland sent a report to all MSPs that illustrated how horrifyingly common...
Brian Whittle
Con
Does Ross Greer agree that it is not just what we teach but how we teach it and the environment in which we teach it that is crucial?
Ross Greer
Green
I am grateful for that intervention and I could not agree more. A lot of evidence about that is coming out in the Education, Children and Young People Commit...
Ben Macpherson (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP)
SNP
Like colleagues, I believe that no pupil, teacher or member of school staff and no one else in the school environment should suffer physical or verbal abuse,...