INCREASING violence in Scotland’s classrooms is the result of ministers not listening to demands for extra support to be given to children, the leader of Scotland’s largest teaching union has said.
Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the EIS, addressed the “increase in violent incidents and distressed behaviour” in schools during her speech to the union’s AGM.
She pledged the EIS will campaign to “tackle the scandalous underfunding” of support for youngsters with additional support needs – with Bradley making clear the rise in violence is a “consequence of not listening to the voices of teachers as they’ve called for more support for children and young people whose mental health is fragile”.
With Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth having pledged a special summit will be held to look at how to tackle violence within schools, Bradley said the EIS will be there to make sure “it leads to real action and real resources rather than just talk”.
She said the EIS is to launch a national campaign for “proper funding for education as a vital and valuable public service”.
This will see the union highlight the “crippling workload” teachers have and the “boundless bureaucracy” they have to deal with, Bradley said.
The campaign comes following strike action by teachers as part of a pay dispute with councils and the Scottish Government – which resulted in a deal which will mean most teachers will have received a 14.6% increase in wages by January 2024.
In six months’ time, the EIS will be submitting its next teachers’ pay claim, Bradley noted.
In the meantime, she demanded “solid action to reduce workload as promised” from the Scottish Government.
The SNP 2021 manifesto included a commitment to reduce the amount of time teachers spend in the classroom by 1.5 hours a week, giving them more time complete marking and prepare for classes.
A survey by the EIS found almost three-quarters (72.5%) of teachers were stressed either all the time or frequently at work, with only 2% saying they can complete all they are asked to do within their contracted 35-hour working week.
The EIS also found 70% of members were working an additional five to seven hours a week without pay, while 41% are working eight hours or more a week – the equivalent of an extra day without being paid for it.
Addressing the union’s AGM in Aviemore, Bradley insisted this was “unsustainable and it’s unacceptable”.
She told union members: “Teachers know what the solutions are, and they’re not yoga, mindfulness or deep breathing.
“We need to see the Scottish Government’s manifesto commitments to reduce teachers’ class contact time delivered.
“No more dither, no more delay. We need solid action to reduce workload as promised, and we need it now.
“Our new campaign will be going after that.”
Bradley said the EIS will also keep campaigning for universal free school meals for pupils in both primary and secondary schools.
She told the AGM: “You know that growing brains need sustenance and that hungry children and young people can’t learn.
“So the EIS will continue campaigning until every single child from primary one to sixth year has the daily dignity and the health and wellbeing and the social benefits of a meal at school that’s free of cost and free of stigma.”
