Teaching union calls for better records of violence in Scots schools amid rise in cases
27.01.2023 - 19:45
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Scotland's biggest teaching union has called for better recording of violent incidents in schools amid a rise in cases.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has reported a significant increase in the number of attacks in classrooms in recent months. The union, however, claims that teachers have been discouraged from reporting them and that councils do not provide conclusive data.
It comes after the Record reported on a number of sickening attacks involving teenagers in and out-with school grounds in recent months. In December, a video showed a pupil being ferociously kicked in the head just metres away from her school gates at Lochaber High in Fort William, Highlands.
A few weeks later, disturbing footage circulated online of a pupil being dragged from her chair to the ground before she suffered multiple blows to her head and body at Waid Academy in Fife.
Following the incidents, the head of the EIS, Andrea Bradley, says she wants better recording of violence in schools amid claims councils were "reluctant" to share violence statistics.
She told the BBC: "When we tried to gather information from councils about their records, we've had patchy responses. There seems to be a reticence and sometimes a reluctance to share that information.
"Councils are perhaps anxious not to appear as though violence is a problem in their schools and in their classrooms, but certainly our priority is to make sure our members and the children and any people they work with have safe and secure environments. Our members are encouraged by us to report violent incidents.
"But we know our members are sometimes discouraged from doing that by employers. That, to some extent, dampens the figures. It gives a false impression of the level of