Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2026 [Draft]
12 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Schools (Violent and Disruptive Incidents)
Shockingly, Scotland now has the highest recorded rate of violence against teachers anywhere in the United Kingdom. In the past decade, serious violent injuries to school staff have tripled, yet the data still varies widely between councils. Teachers and parents have been warning about the issue for years, but little has changed.
With only weeks left in office, will the cabinet secretary now—finally—act by introducing clear-cut national guidance on tackling violence in schools, a consistent national reporting system and reform of exclusions, which has been worked on for a while, so that schools can be the safe workplaces and places to learn that they should be?
In the same item of business
8. Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to reduce the number of violent and disruptive incidents in schools. (S6O-05642)
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
There is no place for violence and abuse in Scotland’s schools. We continue to implement our relationships and behaviour in schools action plan, working with...
Stephen Kerr
Con
Shockingly, Scotland now has the highest recorded rate of violence against teachers anywhere in the United Kingdom. In the past decade, serious violent injur...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I thank Mr Kerr for his question and for his general interest in the topic during the current parliamentary session, which led to some of the work that I det...
Foysol Choudhury (Lothian) (Ind)
Ind
Given the recent report that hundreds of school support workers in Edinburgh have quit within months of starting due to a surge in pupils’ violence, and give...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
When we talk about behaviour in schools, we need to be careful, as we are not seeking to demonise the next generation. The majority of children and young peo...