Meeting of the Parliament 22 January 2025
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.
We have returned to the issue many times, but the situation persists. NASUWT has said that teachers fear for their safety and the GMB has called the situation a “national emergency”, so our focusing on it today is crucial.
We welcome the publication of the joint national action plan, echo calls for ministers to bring forward an update and urge the Government to review the reporting and publication of data on the issue. We also welcome the mobile phones guidance, but more is needed, including on the impact of phones and social media on violence against women and girls. I look forward to hearing more about the task force, but we need more than just a task force—we need action in schools and across communities.
The issue that we are discussing is far wider than all that, but we cannot address it without also considering the workforce and the need for strong public services around young people. The motion and other amendment do not include that detail, so I will set out why I believe that it is crucial. Cases of violence against pupils and staff and disruption in schools have escalated, which is unacceptable. It is worrying that it looks as though the lowest-paid staff, and women and girls, face the brunt of it.
GMB data suggests that women workers are more often subjected to incidents involving violence, and Time for Inclusive Education focus groups have heard from girls that misogyny, homophobia and racism are “rife”. They also heard that body shaming is common, that rape jokes are minimised and that some girls do not want to eat in school due to sexualised comments being made by boys. Other girls do not want to go to school at all. That all affects girls’ mental health and attention span.
The focus groups all indicated what members of the Scottish Youth Parliament backed up at the Education, Children and Young People Committee this morning—that social media can be unsafe places, with content from popular figures, memes and videos normalising misogyny, anti-LGBT prejudice, racism and violence. Young people told the committee this morning that they want more support on the issue at school, so I encourage the minister and the cabinet secretary to look at the Mind Yer Time campaign, as a start.
I also urge the cabinet secretary to consider that in the context of the growing body of evidence that highlights the role of phones in the problem. There is evidence that overexposure to social media can influence attitudes as well as resulting in people experiencing limited concentration, isolation and poor mental health.
Young people also said this morning that when we discuss violence and its impact, we also have to consider the wider context, which our amendment seeks to do. Without addressing the systemic and structural issues that schools face, classrooms will continue to be like pressure cookers, with overworked staff and unsupported pupils. The Educational Institute of Scotland has said that teachers are working on average 11 hours extra per week unpaid, and they are still waiting for reduced contact time. We cannot address violence in schools in isolation from those issues. That is why we urgently need the Government to publish the comprehensive workforce plan that will address gaps in the teaching and school staff workforce, which Parliament voted for last May.