Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth will announce a summit on school violence in a bid to clamp down on classroom disruption. It comes as the number of violent incidents in primary and secondary schools has soared.
The Record’s ‘Our Kids…Our Future’ campaign has exposed the epidemic of youth violence in schools across the country. In a debate at Holyrood today, Gilruth is expected to say: “I have been in my post for two months now, and during that time I have made it absolutely clear that behaviour in schools is one of my top priorities.
“I am committed to ensuring that children and young people have every opportunity for successful learning that is unhindered by disruptive behaviour. I also want to make sure that our teachers and school staff are working in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment.
“Any form of violence in our schools is completely unacceptable. No teacher or pupil should suffer verbal or physical abuse, and parents should be able to send their children to school knowing that they are safe.
“To that end, I’m looking forward to bringing together young people, parents and carers, schools, local authorities, unions and campaigners such as the Daily Record – to identify how we tackle the problem of violence and disruption in our schools.”
We revealed that violent incidents in primary schools shot up to nearly 11,000 in 2021/22 - up by 56% compared to the previous year, which coincided with the pandemic.
In Edinburgh, the primary school violence figure increased from 402 to 771 in one year and in Fife it jumped from 677 to 1068.
Cases in Aberdeen shot up from 308 to 637 and in the Borders from 521 to 1028.
In secondaries, the number of violent reports increased from 1,544 in 2020/21 to 2,951 last year - a huge rise.
It also shows a longer term rise as the overall figure in 2018 was 2,728.
We launched our campaign after we reported the shocking assault of autistic schoolgirl Abbie Jarvis at a skatepark in Glasgow in 2022.
Abbie, then 12, was lured to the city’s Drumchapel area and beaten unconscious in an attack which left her in hospital. She has since been diagnosed with PTSD.
In another shocking case, a clip shared widely on social media showed an altercation where one pupil could be seen getting repeatedly punched and kicked.
Our campaign has demanded action by social media giants on harmful content and called for ring fenced funding to ensure communities have a place for teenagers to go.
We have also asked every adult in Scotland to take a lead in their community.
Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said: “Too often schools are riddled with violence and it is holding children back and traumatising staff too. We need more resources inside and outside of the school and we need to back our staff to make the right, restorative decisions for pupils. It’s time for change.”
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said last week: “Schools must be safe places to work and to learn, and violence against any member of school staff is never acceptable. We are hearing reports of increased instances of violence against staff post-pandemic, so local authorities and the Scottish Government must take all possible action to ensure that our schools are safe.
“Additional funding to increase the numbers of specialist staff available to support young people facing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties could help to address this issue, as would better support for teachers working with young people from a wide range of backgrounds."
Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said: "For far too long SNP Ministers have buried their head in the sand about this growing crisis.
"This summit cannot be a talking shop or a photo op - we need a real plan to keep classrooms safe."
Tory MSP Stephen Kerr said: “Under consistent pressure from the Scottish Conservatives on this issue, Jenny Gilruth has finally recognised the impact of escalating violence on teachers and pupils.
“We hope that the emergency summit on school violence, which the education secretary has committed to, will be a positive first step towards addressing this crisis in our classrooms.
“But the true test will be turning these words into action. If education really is a priority for the SNP, they must continue to follow the Scottish Conservatives’ example and work constructively to ensure that everyone in our schools is free from the threat of violence or disruption.
“So I hope to hear Jenny Gilruth put some meat on the bones of this announcement during today’s debate."
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