Violence and abuse of teachers in Scotland on the rise

An over-reliance on often ineffective restorative approaches to managing poor pupil behaviour in Scotland’s schools is driving a rise in violence and abuse of teachers.

New research examining the scale of pupil behaviour concerns among teachers in Scotland, published today by the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union has found that the overwhelming majority of teachers say verbal and physical abuse from pupils has increased in the last 12 months.

Nearly four in ten (39%) of respondents reported experiencing violence or physical abuse from pupils in the previous 12 months. Members reported being spat at, headbutted, punched and kicked and having furniture, including chairs, thrown at them.

Specific experiences include a teacher who was hit in the abdomen by a window pole and another teacher who was attacked with a scooter and kicked in the chest, resulting in unconsciousness.