Teaching union leaders will today demand the SNP Government does more to clamp down on classroom violence in Scotland’s increasingly out-of-control schools.
They claim MSPs have “failed to take the opportunity” to tackle the problem. The call comes just 24 hours after an alleged incident in a school in Renfrewshire left three teachers and a pupil injured.
Police later arrested a teenage girl. Opposition politicians claimed that existing support for staff in the education sector was “completely inadequate”.
READ MORE: Three teachers treated in hospital after alleged attack by former high school pupil
Today, at the annual conference of the NASUWT teaching union, its leaders will demand the Scottish Government acts to clamp down on unruly behaviour in schools and also improve the number of teachers in class.
Their concerns came after emergency services were called to Johnstone High School shortly before 11am on Friday day. The three female teachers – aged 59, 48 and 34 – were later taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley for treatment to minor injuries.
A 14-year-old pupil also sustained minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment. Police later announced that a 16-year-old girl has been charged following the alleged incident and would be reported to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth will be in the audience at the NASUWT conference in Aberdeen and is expected to hear some hard truths about her party’s role in the crisis.
Dr Patrick Roach, the NASUWT’s general secretary, is expected to tell delegates: “The Scottish Government has talked tough this year about introducing financial sanctions on local authorities if they failed to maintain teacher/pupil ratios.
“But the reality is that the Scottish Government’s persistent under-funding of education, along with the failure to tackle excessive teacher workload, serious violence and abuse from pupils and the real-terms erosion of salaries has led to the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.”
‘Jenny Gilruth must heed these calls and get a grip’
His union colleague, Mike Corbett, said it was pupils who would pay the “ultimate price” for the situation.
He will say: “The current crisis in teacher recruitment and retention is the result of a short-sighted and short-termist approach to securing the supply of teachers.”
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Stephen Kerr said it was clear that “violence in schools has become a serious issue under the SNP”.
He added: “Mike Corbett’s remarks make it clear that teachers feel the support being offered by the SNP government is completely inadequate.
“It is crucial that our hard working teachers are protected while doing their job and are able to take appropriate action without fear of potentially being struck off.
“There is an extremely concerning trend of disruptive behaviour within our classrooms and Jenny Gilruth – herself a former teacher – must heed these calls and get a grip on the issue.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It is worth pointing out that education spend per pupil is higher than in England and Wales. Of course, ministers are committed to recruiting more teachers and support staff.
“Retention of teachers is absolutely key and undoubtedly the historic pay settlement reached earlier this year will go some way to achieving that aspiration.”
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