Border Telegraph | News | More attacks on local teachers

Wednesday, 20th August, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 7th November, 2007 12:30

More attacks on local teachers

By Caitlin Smith

INCIDENTS of verbal and physical attacks on teachers in the Borders are on the rise.

Scottish Borders Council statistics reveal a total of 173 attacks on school staff in 2006/07, compared with 164 in 2005/06.

Physical assaults range from scratching, biting, kicking - at the lower end of the table - which are the most common types of incidents, to punching, head-butting or attacking with an improvised weapon at the more severe end of the scale.

And while this type of incident is very much in the minority, it remains an issue of real concern.

Verbal assault would be things like aggressive name- calling or threatening behaviour.

A council education spokesperson said that while physical violence was an unusual occurrence, no manner of attack would be tolerated.

She said: “The Council has zero tolerance approach to violence or verbal abuse in local schools.

“We take it very seriously and will use the appropriate approved disciplinary methods to deal with it.”

But it’s not only the Borders region that has experienced an increase in attacks.

National figures show that Scotland has experienced a 2.2 per cent rise since last year, bringing the total number of attacks for 2006/07 up to 7, 306.

A spokesperson for teacher’s union The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said that any attack on a teacher is one to many.

“Any rise in the number of attacks on teachers, no matter how small, is a matter of serious concern.

“All attacks on teachers are unacceptable and should be dealt with quickly.

“Thankfully, physical assault on teachers do remain comparatively rare so it is important to retain a sense of perspective.

“While much work has been done nationally to address the problem, this will taker some time to filter down to schools on a local level.

“The Scottish Government and all local authorities must work together to tackle pupil indiscipline by providing better support for teachers and by reducing class sizes to allow teachers to give each pupil more individual attention.”

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