Teachers under attack

Oct 28 2008 by Jenny Wood, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

ALARMING figures show hundreds of violent attacks on teachers take place in Perth and Kinross schools every year.

And worryingly the figures are on the rise.

In the last academic year 230 physically violent attacks took place on teachers and staff were subjected to 119 incidences of verbal abuse at school.

Those responsible for running local schools say such behaviour will not be tolerated in our Big County classrooms.

A Perth and Kinross Council official told the PA: “Each incident is taken extremely seriously by the council, because no member of staff should have to put up with such behaviour from pupils. We will not tolerate it.”

He explained: “Staff need to know and have the right to expect that if they report an incident it will be recorded and then followed up with appropriate action. Pupils and their parents also need to realise that action will be taken if any such incident occurs.

“The council has a duty to protect its staff and that is, and will remain, one of our top priorities,” he stressed.

The number of verbal and physical attacks on teachers have spiralled nearly 17 per cent compared to the previous academic year, 2005-2006. Four times the rise seen last year across Scotland as a whole.

But Perth and Kinross Council are keen to put the problem into perspective and stress local classrooms are not turning into combat zones.

“We have around school pupils in Perth and Kinross and less than one per cent of pupils across nursery, primary and secondary schools are ever involved in incidents of violence and aggression against staff in schools,” explained the local authority’s spokesman.

“In HMIE Inspections, inspectors have evaluated climate and relationships as being good or very good in almost all our schools.”

But he admitted: “Some schools will always have a minority of challenging pupils. That is a fact of life faced by schools all over the country.

“Violence against teachers in our schools is rare, but when disciplinary problems do arise the council is committed to dealing with the pupils concerned swiftly and appropriately,” the official stressed.