Violent incidents in schools 'more than double' under SNP

Scottish Labour has claimed it would “make schools safe” if elected in May

Violent incidents recorded in Scotland’s schools have more than doubled since the last Holyrood election, according to new figures.

Since 2021-22, the number of violent incidents recorded in secondary schools rose by 182% from 2,413 to 6,809.

Violence in primary schools has surged by 113% over the same period, from 12,075 to 25,770.

The figures were obtained by Scottish Labour through a series of freedom of information requests to councils.

They show the number of violent incidents recorded in secondary schools is now more than four times higher than pre-pandemic levels, while the number of incidents in primary schools has nearly tripled.

Paul O’Kane, the party’s education spokesman, said: “John Swinney sat on his hands while violence in Scotland’s schools reached crisis point.

“Even in primary schools, violence is far too common – causing chaos for kids and putting pressure on teachers.

“Scottish Labour will fix the SNP’s mess and tackle this crisis at last.

“We will provide the leadership that has been sorely missing under the SNP and provide schools and teachers with the backing they need to crack down on violence and bullying.”

Mr O’Kane said his party would introduced a classroom ban on mobile phones and an increase in campus cops to “make schools safe”.

The Scottish Government said there was “no place” for violence in Scotland’s classrooms and that most pupils were well behaved. Officials have been working with teaching unions and Cosla to implement an action plan on relationships and behaviour to address “current challenges”.

However, teaching union NASUWT said last week that, two years on from the launch of the Behaviour Action Plan, it was still receiving regular reports from teachers across Scotland about incidents of serious violence and abuse in schools.

Teachers around Scotland continue to raise concerns regarding safety and classroom behaviour.

Earlier this month, a group of 20 teachers, classroom assistants and school volunteers from the Scottish Borders wrote a letter to Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth claiming that the situation in classrooms was now “beyond critical” and children were being “catastrophically failed”

The letter followed an alleged incident involving a pupil being “very threatening” with a knife towards a school volunteer.

Signatories to the letter warned that rising levels of indiscipline and a lack of meaningful consequence are placing teachers under severe strain. Peristently disruptive pupils must be held more accountable for their behaviour, they said.

Mr O’Kane said that, if Scottish Labour won May’s Holyrood election, it would “provide the leadership that has been sorely missing under the SNP and provide schools and teachers with the backing they need to crack down on violence and bullying.”

Scottish Labour noted that Argyll and Bute, Fife and Highland Councils noted changes to their reporting mechanisms in this time. Better reporting of incidents may account for some of the increases.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There is no place for violence in Scotland’s schools. Our schools should be safe and consistent learning environments for staff and pupils alike.

“Last year as part of this action plan we published new guidance for schools on consequences, developed in collaboration with headteachers, teaching unions and local authorities.

“The second annual progress report on delivery of the action plan shows that good progress is being made to deliver all 20 actions within the plan.”