Teachers punched, kicked and struck in ‘alarming’ 94% level of violence in Scottish council area

A survey published by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) showed 94 per cent of teachers in Fife have been involved in violent and aggressive incidents in the past four years. Six in ten (61 per cent) said they had been assaulted in the past four years.

The worrying data was published in a new report from EIS Fife. The survey results from Scotland’s largest teaching union said teachers were being pushed, shoved, struck with objects, kicked, punched, bit and spat on by youngsters and parents.

An image published by the Fife branch showed an teacher’s arm covered in a severe bruise after a violent incident with a pupil in an undisclosed Fife classroom.

Graeme Keir, EIS Fife publicity officer, said: “There is a real and sustained crisis in many Fife schools. Violence and aggression is completely unacceptable in our schools, and teachers have been working flat out to address the issues.

“However, all teachers know that action plans and devoted teachers cannot alone alleviate these problems unless there is also an increase in staffing.

“The education service has suffered over 14 years of cuts, so there were not enough staff to cope with the impact of the pandemic. Fife already has one of the lowest per head spends on education and we are threatened with more cuts next financial year. We are asking that Fife Council finds the resources to increase specialist services for children and young people in need.”

Mr Keir urged people in Fife to write to their local councillor and MSP asking for more resources in schools and for young people in the community.

According to the survey, nearly two-thirds of surveyed teachers in Fife (61 per cent) had been assaulted in the past four years. Almost half (48 per cent) said violent and aggressive incidents were happening every day in their schools.

The report said: “Teachers continue to report incidents of pushing or shoving, being struck with an object, kicking, punching, biting and spitting. Where the aggressive behaviour was not physical, teachers most often reported threats, swearing, mockery and behaviour motivated by sexism.

“Fife Council’s own figures show over 30 violent and aggressive incidents happening daily across all its schools and early learning centres. Many incidents, however, are going unreported as staff cannot find the time to report incidents when they happen so regularly.”

Scottish ministers were told in April to take “urgent action” after figures revealed school violence had increased by more than 53 per cent since the last pre-pandemic school year.

Analysis of the data had shown for the 2022/23 school year a total of 29,180 incidents were recorded by schools across Scotland – up 53.6 per cent from the 18,993 in 2018/19, the last year before schools were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government is working on a joint National Action Plan alongside council umbrella body Cosla to combat school violence.

Donald MacLeod, Fife Council's executive director of education, said: “This issue isn’t unique to Fife. We know that teachers and school communities across Scotland are concerned about violent incidents in schools and it’s something we’re taking very seriously. Any form of violence is unacceptable and we’re committed to safe working practices and training for our staff.

"Some of our schools are facing specific challenges and we give targeted support to schools where or when it’s needed."

The Scottish Government was contacted for comment.