Abuse in schools condemned

The UNISON Scotland public services union says new Scottish government research shows that the lowest paid — mostly women support staff — are being expected to deal with pupils with the most challenging behaviour.

The Scottish government’s Behaviour in Scottish schools 2023 report shows 86% of support staff encounter low level disruptive behaviour every day, with 66% experiencing verbal abuse, and 59% experiencing physical aggression on a regular basis.

The education issues group chair of UNISON Scotland, Lorraine Thompson, called for substantial investment in schools and for wider support teams for children and young people. She said that money announced by the Scottish government is “wholly inadequate”.

The EIS Scottish teaching union said the results of the research also showed that incidents of violence, aggression and disruptive behaviours in Scotland’s schools have risen significantly over the past few years.

Its own national survey found that almost three-quarters (72%) of EIS school branches indicated that incidents of violence and aggression have grown over the past four years.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said the report and survey “paint a deeply worrying picture” that the Scottish government and local authorities must not ignore.