Schools Scotland: SNP government guidance 'incoherent' on disruptive behaviour and violence

In a statement on Tuesday, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth updated Holyrood about the Government’s national action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools - a three-year initiative announced in August last year.

She said guidance published in June on how to foster a positive, inclusive and safe school environment, including the use of consequences, reinforced the principles of prevention and de-escalation.

“The guidance seeks to ensure that everyone in a school community understands the boundaries and expectations for behaviour, and the processes for when things go wrong,” she said.

But Ms Gilruth was forced to defend that guidance and the Government’s wider approach amid cross-party criticism at Holyrood. Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary, described the statement as a “repeat” of what the Government had already outlined. He said its action plan had “no new actions, just more talking” and criticised the lack of specificity in the guidance.

“There are no clear outcomes or consequences in the guidance on how teachers can respond to violence, which they may experience,” he said. “Teachers getting punched or getting chairs thrown at them do not need to be told to undertake a risk assessment.

“The Scottish Government's incoherent guidance and reluctance to even mention effective consequences, let alone apply them, is letting down hard-working school staff and the majority of pupils who simply want to learn without disruption.”

But Ms Gilruth said the Government guidance on consequences, which was published in June, was “quite new” and had been welcomed by the NASUWT teachers’ union, pointing out that teachers were involved in its creation.

There have been growing concerns around the issues of how to tackle disruptive behaviour and violence in schools, particularly since the pandemic. A survey released by NASUWT in March found nearly half (49 per cent) of female teachers had reported physical abuse or violence in the previous 12 months, with 36 per cent of their male counterparts doing the same.

The union welcomed the publication earlier this summer of the behaviour guidance for schools focusing on risk assessments and consequences. But NASUWT said it was “critical” for the Government and council umbrella body Cosla to take steps to ensure schools have the tools and support needed to “turn the tide on the growth of violence and disruption by pupils”.

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Scottish Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy said Ms Gilruth’s statement failed to address key issues such as rising workloads, demoralised staff and young people who were being “failed” by a lack of ASN [additional support needs] help and “next to no access” to ADHD assessments. “It fails to address the systemic change needed,” she insisted.

Ms Gilruth, however, said it was “unfair” to suggest the Government had not taken any action, pointing out that it had provided funding to support staff as a direct response to research, and offered support to improve attendance.

She was also repeatedly pressed on whether the Government intended to implement a nationwide school ban on the use of smartphones. But she said the legislative power did not rest with ministers, who in any case entrusted headteachers to take decisions around the issue.