"We are not alone": Teacher speaks out amid rising classroom violence in Scotland

An Aberdeen teacher has shared experiences of dreading going into work after dealing with pupil violence in the classroom.

It comes after teaching union EIS surveyed 774 of its Aberdeen members, with 38% reporting being physically assaulted by pupils.

The teacher - who has spoken out anonymously - explained it would sometimes be difficult to wake up in the morning after constantly worrying how to improve the situation: "You could have a plan in place but everything you think could help - doesn't help.

"You go back to the drawing board to have a think but again it doesn't work and the violent episodes are still happening. It's a really vicious cycle."

They continued to explain they feel it's important to speak up about classroom violence as it's a Scotland-wide issue and teachers shouldn't feel alone.

The teacher added: "Every time we go into that classroom, we're putting on an act. We're putting on that show, that we are happy and bubbly but sometimes it's actually the opposite.

"I think maybe a lot of people don't want to say anything because they're scared they might lose their job or they're scared it might come back on them."

'Inconsistent consequences'

In the EIS survey, which focused on Aberdeen teachers, it was suggested consequences for aggressive behaviour is 'inconsistent' and there is a perception it can instead be rewarded.

The teacher addressed incidents where a pupil would act violent and be removed from class but would be provided with a snack or a toy before being allowed back into the class a short while later.

This was said to cause teachers anxiety knowing the child was back in their class having faced no consequences.

Procedures on reporting incidents was also highlighted, claiming sometimes the outcome of the filed report would go unknown.

A lack of in-class support when it comes to supporting children with additional support needs was also highlighted, stressing the need for more pupil support assistants (PSA).

They said sometimes a class of 30 children can have seven or more pupils who have additional support needs and the teacher can be left without a PSA.

Teaching union calling for urgent change

Ron Constable, joint branch secretary of Aberdeen EIS, says they have met with councillors since the report and will meet with the education board this week.

Mr Constable urged the local authority to recognise the impact classroom violence is having on teachers: "One of the misconceptions is - I hear it continually referred to as an 'EIS report'.

"What the authority has got to remember is that these voices are from Aberdeen teachers.

"If you take away the narrative from 'EIS' and just look at the comments and the statistics - that is what needs to be addressed.

"I think Aberdeen City are negating the impact this is having on human beings in the class. Our teachers go out and do their level best to give an excellent educational provision for our young people in Aberdeen schools."

Improving safety in the classroom

Councillor Martin Greig, convenor of the Education Committee at Aberdeen City Council, described it as a "difficult time" but stressed they're working hard to improve safety within the classroom.

Mr Greig said: "Absolutely everybody has a right to feel safe and protected in every learning environment and we are going to continue to work together to try and achieve that."

However, he shared fears of Aberdeen being 'stigmatised' as somewhere which has more pupil violence than the rest of the country.

He continued: "I’m worried about Aberdeen becoming stigmatised as a place where behaviour is way beyond what is happening elsewhere – we are not an exceptional place.

"It’s a real worry that staff could be forming quite an unfavourable impression of Aberdeen. There is a real risk of people not wanting to come to Aberdeen and take up teaching and other educational jobs because of these stories.

"It is absolutely important to follow up concerns, take every single complaint and incident seriously, but there has been a strong emphasis on Aberdeen as if it was radically different to elsewhere."

A new whistleblowing procedure has been implemented which allows all educational staff to report incidents.

An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “We have always encouraged staff to report incidents.

"The suggestion that staff were being discouraged was of concern so we felt an additional mechanism, given the seriousness of the allegation, was worth putting in place so that we can address any issues that we are unaware of.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Scotland’s schools should be safe learning environments for all – violence and abusive behaviour towards pupils or staff is completely unacceptable.

"The Scottish Government has taken a range of action in response to issues with behaviour in schools. In recent months we have convened the Headteachers Taskforce, brought together national summits on behaviour, published the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research and provided new funding for support staff, recognising the research showed they are more likely to experience negative behaviour.

“The First Minister and Education Secretary recently launched the Gender Based Violence in Schools Framework as part of a commitment to eradicate misogyny in Scotland’s schools.

“Crucially, work is well underway to bring forward a joint National Action Plan with COSLA to set out the range of actions needed at both local and national level, which will publish this Spring. That work is being directly informed by our teaching unions, including the EIS, at national level.”

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