Swift action needs to be taken to protect the safety of children and education staff in Dumfries and Galloway schools, a councillor insisted this week.
North West Dumfries representative Paula Stevenson shared her concerns about their physical and mental health at Tuesday’s full council meeting.
She pointed out that there were 662 violent incidents in the region’s primary schools last year – a massive increase on pre-pandemic figures – and 80 in secondary
schools.
Tabling a motion on the issue at the meeting, Councillor Stevenson said: “There isn’t anarchy in our classrooms but there is a growing trend and an immediate concern.
“This has been highlighted by parents, teachers, pupils and union
representatives.
“Violence in schools is a concern right throughout Scotland and sadly our schools, staff and pupils are not exempt.”
The matter was discussed in the Scottish Parliament in May and education secretary Jenny Gilruth vowed to organise a special summit on tackling violence in
schools.
However, progress has been slow and there have been no updates on when the event is likely to be
held.
The council meeting heard that the Scottish Government has not gathered data on violence in schools since 2016.
Councillor Stevenson said: “Since then, we have seen major upheaval in our children’s lives, although we cannot pretend that Covid, lockdowns, and the cost-of-living crisis have caused all the problems, they have significantly impacted our children’s lives – from missing important social milestones to affecting their mental health.
“The figures for recorded violence in primary schools between 2019-2020 are 458 in primary school and 23 in secondary, with 33 floating incidents.
“We can see the figures for the last financial year in front of us.
“There has been a significant increase – a jump of 204 incidents in primary
schools.
“We cannot pretend that this is business as usual and that is why this summit and report are so important. Things have changed in our classrooms, and we need the information that tells us what has changed since 2016 from the people actively involved in education and our children’s lives – the teachers, pupils, unions, and parents.”
Councillor Stevenson added: “The disruption violence causes to all our children in classrooms will not help close the attainment gap, nor help recruitment and retention of education staff.
“It will severely affect the mental health for those within the classroom setting and that just isn’t good enough. Our children and education staff and teachers deserve to be safe in our classrooms.”
Her motion received full backing and council chiefs will now make contact with government ministers calling for the summit to be held as quickly as
possible.
