Violence in schools: Teachers in Fife suffering injuries as a result of aggression in the classroom

The shock claims have come in from Jane McKeown, Secretary for the Fife Local Association of the EIS – the largest teacher’s union in Scotland.

Ms McKeown lent her voice to the national picture of school violence and aggression presented by EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley on Tuesday.

Ms Bradley visited the Kingdom following the publication of EIS’ nationwide survey last week claiming that more than 80 per cent of branches nationwide are reporting incidents of violence and aggression every week in school.

In Fife, 71 per cent of EIS teachers who responded to the survey say they experience violence daily.

“We know that [nationally] many teachers have suffered physical injuries and that has resulted in the hospitalisation of some teachers. We know that some have had to be absent from work in order to recover from physical injuries,” Ms Bradley said.

“Aside from physical injuries, we know that teachers are experiencing a lot of emotional un-wellness as a result of the persistent stress impacts of being in an environment that doesn’t feel secure or safe.”

Locally, Ms McKeown confirmed that teachers in Fife are also suffering from physical injuries as a result of their job.

“I’ve been supporting teachers with broken fingers and people who have been tripped and had significant knee injuries as a result,” she said.

“Some have had things thrown at their head and required stitches. However, for the people I deal with the most, the emotional effect on them [is the most serious].”

She continued: “It’s not just about what’s happening there and then but it’s constantly being on alert. It’s fight or flight but they’re forever in fight or flight – all the time, every day at work. And that is having such a detrimental impact on people’s mental health.”

The 100-page national survey report published by EIS on Friday aligns with Ms McKeown’s first-hand experience.

It’s also in line with the latest Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research from the Scottish Government published on Tuesday.

“School staff reported that the most common forms of serious disruptive behaviours between pupils were physical and verbal abuse, particularly physical aggression, general verbal abuse and physical violence,” a report summary stated.

“Two-thirds (67 per cent) had encountered general verbal abuse, 59 per cent physical aggression and 43 per cent physical violence between pupils in the classroom in the last week.”

Locally, approximately 71 per cent EIS members from Fife said there is daily pupil on teacher incidents of violence and aggression. Nearly 82 per cent said the problem has grown significantly in recent years.

On Tuesday Ms Bradley visited Fife to meet with Shelagh McLean, Fife’s Head of Education and Children’s Services and members of the local EIS to discuss the union’s “roadmap for tackling the issue.”

“Shelagh was certainly strong in her acknowledgement of the issue and acknowledged the need to act, but I think in large part we all understand the extent to which she and other colleagues within Fife Council can do that is down to the level of resource they have from the Scottish Government,” Ms Bradley said after the meeting.

“It seems that Fife has already made some positive inroads towards addressing incidents of violent, aggressive, and distressed behaviour in schools. It’s really heartening the council is collaborating well with the local EIS association and we’re working jointly to acknowledge the issues that are there and work out solutions that can be put in place.”

She continued: “But I think there was probably mutual agreement that local authorities – including Fife – need to see more money from the Scottish Government in order to properly resource education services locally.”

There are a multitude of causes for the current epidemic of school violence and aggression.

Poverty, a mental health crisis amongst young people and a lack of investment and support from the government are all partially to blame.

“EIS believes there is a multiplicity of reasons as to why this is occurring,” Ms Bradley said.

“We think more than a decade of austerity is having a really detrimental and damaging effect on the lives of so many children and young people. They’re living in poverty; they’re living in deprivation and many are coming to school hungry.”

She continued: “That is all putting pressure on families and that will be experienced first hand by children at home. There’s no real outlet or support for that. So young ppl are coming to school stressed every single day as a result of the poverty and deprivation they are experiencing relentlessly and that often manifests itself in behaviours we’d associate with isolation, stigma, frustration, worry, and all these kinds of things.”

So what comes next? The EIS will keep pushing for change and investment locally and nationally while encouraging conversations at all levels.

“The data published by the Scottish Government absolutely concurs with the research findings that EIS published on Friday. That should mean that nobody is burying their head in the sand about this problem,” Ms Bradley said.

“Everyone is honestly looking at it, accepting there is a problem and agreeing to work together to solve it. But the bottom line is that teachers as employees of local authorities are entitled to go to work and be protected from health and safety risks. And at the moment, we can’t say that they are going to school sufficiently well protected. That should be a matter of concern for everyone.”