Teachers in Scotland’s schools have revealed the “staggering” level of physical and verbal abuse they are subjected to every day in an “eye-opening” new report. The Scottish Government commissioned research into behaviour in educational establishments but it proved to be a tough read for them.

It found that classroom antics had worsened since the last report in 2016, with the SNP Executive blaming this on the Covid pandemic. Staff reported increases in both low level and serious disruptive behaviours, with reports of pupils being under the influence of drugs or alcohol and using digital technology abusively also up.

Other incidents on the rise include sexist abuse towards staff, as well as general verbal abuse, physical aggression and violence towards both teachers and pupils in the classroom and around the school. The report says: “The proportion of staff that have experienced at least one incident of general verbal abuse towards them personally in the last 12 months increased among all staff types in primary and secondary schools since 2009, with the greatest rise occurring since 2016.”

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters