NO teacher should suffer abuse, John Swinney has said – after some revealed classroom attacks in letters to the Scottish Government.
The Education Secretary says his team is “working towards improving” workloads, working conditions and more.
The comments come after 60 letters from teachers were disclosed to the Tories following a Freedom of Information request.
READ MORE: Three-quarters of Scots teachers stressed by their workload
They were sent to Holyrood in response to a request by Nicola Sturgeon in October.
Some described physical and verbal assaults, with one writer saying they had been “kicked and punched”, with support staff bitten and subjected to “repeated kicks in the stomach”.
Another educator wrote: “The best teacher I have ever seen left last year due to paperwork and sheer unmanageable workload... something must be done before there are no teachers left.”
On support and staffing, another letter stated: “We share a headteacher but she is available less and less to manage our school as the workload at our cluster school is ever increasing due to cuts in support staff, social services, primary mental health services, speech and language – the list goes on.”
The Scottish Conservatives have said that the letters highlight the pressure teachers are under in schools, including increased levels of violence in the classroom.
READ MORE: EIS chief showed true leadership during P1 assessment furore
Liz Smith MSP said: “As well as all the other pressures currently being cited by teachers, the growing level of violence in our classrooms is a major worry. It is a completely unacceptable state of affairs that many teachers are forced to operate in this kind of environment.
“It is also interesting to note from the letters that teachers believe some of the problem is created by the well-intentioned, but nonetheless increasingly problematic policy which encourages local authorities to mainstream all pupils wherever possible.”
Swinney said: “No teacher should have to suffer abuse in the workplace, and we want all pupils to behave in a respectful manner.
“Our refreshed guidance on preventing and managing schools exclusions, published in June 2017, includes guidance on managing challenging behaviour. The number of teachers is the highest since 2010 and we have committed to creating new opportunities for teachers to develop their careers.
“We have also undertaken a range of actions to reduce teacher workloads, acting to clarify and simplify the curriculum framework and to remove unnecessary bureaucracy.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here