Teachers facing pupil violence say incidents not resolved well

A new report from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) comes after the union revealed that 94 per cent of teachers in Fife have been involved in violent and aggressive incidents in the last four years, while and 61% have been assaulted in the same time period.   

Teachers reported that violent and aggressive incidents were a daily occurrence in 48% of schools. 

Figures released today show only 34% of teachers say their school had a clear, agreed, and publicised plan for managing behaviour.  

The EIS data also showed that 31% thought that violent and aggressive incidents were resolved satisfactorily, while fewer than a quarter were happy with the support for staff which is put in place when an incident takes place. 

School pupils (Image: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)

Dissatisfaction skyrocketed for those involved with pupils with additional support, with 92% saying that a lack of specialist staff was leading to them facing violent and aggressive behaviour. 

Graeme Keir, Fife EIS Publicity Officer, said teachers felt that these services were “overloaded”. 

He said “We’ve seen a real rise in violent and aggressive incidents since the pandemic but this crisis has not been brought about by the pandemic.  

“The causes are more complex: over fourteen years of austerity has seen poverty rocket and support and education budgets slashed.  

“Our young people are experiencing real distress and mental health issues but support services are overloaded.” 

The EIS report also found that almost two-thirds (60%) of teachers reported pressure to reduce exclusion rates, while only 29% thought restorative means of improving behaviour and wellbeing were properly resourced. 

As a result, 77% thought that a lack of measures to deal with low level disruption led to violence and aggression.

READ MORE:

• Fife teachers report alarming level of violence from pupils
• Violent incidents soar by 53% in Scottish schools
• EIS warns teachers 'suffering broken bones amid rising pupil violence'

Mr Keir, said: “We still support these approaches, in many cases, but it’s clear that the resources have not been put into the system to support the massive rise in pupils needing help and the time-consuming nature of these approaches.  

“Class sizes and class commitment must be reduced and specialist services increased. Instead we are threatened with further budget reductions. 

“Schools also clearly need an agreed plan of behaviour expectations and sanctions. Headteachers must work with staff to agree these plans and make sure they are supported by parents. While schools are still so under-funded exclusion must be a measure available to headteachers.” 

Donald MacLeod, executive director of education at Fife Council said that he takes the results of the EIS survey seriously.  "The EIS acknowledge that we have worked constructively with them to address these issues to date and that together we have made some progress.  We're far from complacent on this issue and recognise that we still have a lot of work ahead of us. 

"We agree with the trade unions that violence and aggression in any workplace is unacceptable and schools are no exception.  We'll keep working until every member of staff feels safe and well supported, and able to respond effectively and confidently to the daily challenges of school life. 

"We'll continue to strengthen our approaches to both professional learning and the management of pupil behaviour across our schools.  We recognise that this is a national issue and not unique to Fife. It requires a whole society response, including support from families and for parents and their parenting techniques. 

"We're committed to working with trade unions and staff and reflecting upon what's already in place, so that we can respond more effectively to the challenges schools are facing. 

He continued: "We have well developed systems for recording incidents, which we encourage all staff to use.  Collated reports of incidents are shared with teams from across education services to ensure we provide the best support and response that we can.  We have a detailed action plan in place, which is reviewed regularly, to direct and improve the approach we take which has received good buy in from staff.  All education staff have access to a comprehensive professional learning package which includes de-escalation techniques and trauma informed practice. 

"A whole system review is underway across education services, focussing on our approach to supporting young people with additional needs, including those whose behaviour is more challenging. This work will continue to be a main priority for the foreseeable future"