Meeting of the Parliament 06 March 2024 [Draft]
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 key findings at national level. Mr Kerr spoke about some of this data in his speech, and it stems from the BISS research—“Behaviour in Scottish Schools 2023”—that was published at the end of last year. It is worth pointing out that the previous time when data was collected was 2016, so we expected to see a change in relation to behaviour patterns. The evidence demonstrates that most children and young people are well behaved in class and around the school. It is important that we do not lose sight of that fact, but low-level disruptive behaviour, disengagement and some forms of serious disruptive behaviour have increased since 2016, including increases in behaviour such as violence and abuse between pupils and towards staff. Of particular concern is the fact that we are for the first time seeing more regular displays of violent behaviours among our youngest children—for example, in primaries 1 to 3.
Colleagues will recall that, back in November last year, I set out a five-step plan to respond to the BISS research. I will today provide to Parliament an update on that work. First, I committed to a dedicated approach in responding to issues related to misogyny, given the concerning findings in BISSR and in other research that has been provided by our teaching unions. Data that was produced by the NASUWT back in November showed that female teachers experience double the level of verbal abuse that their male counterparts experience. Furthermore, according to a national EIS survey among its branches, 51 per cent of teachers believe that boys are much more likely to exhibit violence and aggressive behaviours towards women teachers than they are towards their male teachers.