Fife teachers reveal ‘alarming’ level of violence from pupils – and parents

A survey published today showed 94% have been involved in violent and aggressive incidents in the last four years - and 61% have been assaulted in the last four years.

The worrying data was published in a new report from EIS Fife which spotlighted more “alarming” records of violence and aggression in Kingdom schools. The survey results from Scotland’s largest teaching union said teachers are 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.”

He 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%) have been assaulted in the last four years. In that same time, nearly all surveyed teachers say they were involved in a violent or aggressive incident (94%). Almost half (48%) said that violent and aggressive incidents are happening every day in their schools.

The report stated: “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.”

It’s not the first time that school violence and aggression has been in the news, and it’s not a problem that’s specific to Fife. Locally and nationally, the union has been reporting a sharp increase in incidents since the pandemic.

The local authority has had an action plan in place since last year to tackle the issue The Scottish Government also recently issued its own action plan. In part, EIS Fife said its survey was a way of monitoring the impact of those actions

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.

“Across our schools a huge amount of work is underway to tackle violence and we're working with partners including police, Fife NHS, and the Health and Social Care Partnership. Together, we are putting together a number of different programmes, practices and actions in place.

“The safety and wellbeing of all our children and staff in every Fife school is a priority and we will continue to work with all our school communities to make sure our staff and young people have a positive experience at school.”