Schools crisis as number of attacks on teachers soars

Teachers have been the victim of almost 30,000 attacks in the past three years, figures show.

The Dundee City Council area saw the highest number of incidents last year with 1,094 – although the local authority said it could be due to a new system for recording offences.

It was closely followed by North Lanarkshire, where there were 1,070 assaults on teachers.

Attacks have been on the rise in recent years, with 11,627 across Scotland last year, 9,312 in 2017/18 and 8,500 in 2016/17 – a jump of almost 37%.

Beatrice Wishart, Lib Dem education spokeswoman, called on the Scottish Government to do more to protect staff, adding that cuts to specialist staff who support children with “complex needs” could be exacerbating the problem.

She said: “Teachers and pupils are being let down. Nobody should have to go to work with a reasonable expectation that they might be assaulted. Teaching staff have been the victim of attacks on almost 30,000 occasions since 2016/17.

“These are incredibly concerning figures and many represent vulnerable pupils who are not getting the support they need.

“We will never ensure that every child gets the best possible start unless we make sure that schools are places where pupils and staff feel comfortable, confident and ready to learn.

“The Scottish Government must lay out how it will support local authorities and schools in tackling this and reverse the unacceptable decrease in support staff numbers on its watch.”