Commenting on the Cabinet Secretary for Education’s ministerial statement on relationships and behaviour in schools, Matt Wrack, Acting General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:
 
“We welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s commitments to act on the warnings we have shared with her about the growing threat of the far-right and gender-based violence in schools.

“We stand ready to work with her and other partners in finding ways to improve social media literacy, critical thinking skills, and to expose disinformation and false narratives among children and young people.

“We also welcome her commitment to undertake a review of the processes for reporting incidents of violence and abuse in schools to improve consistency and streamline systems of reporting. Gaining a true picture of the scale of behaviour incidents and reducing the barriers to teachers reporting incidents is critical in turning the tide on the growth of violence and disruption in our schools.”
 
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:

“Only 4% of NASUWT teachers who responded to our recent behaviour in schools survey said that their school or employer have shared details or promoted the National Action Plan on Relationships and Behaviour to staff.

“We are actively engaged in working with government to produce guidance for schools on the use of consequences in tackling violence, abuse and poor behaviour from pupils, but we are pushing ministers to go further and faster to ensure that the principles behind the Action Plan are embedded and enacted in every school.

“Nine months since the publication of the Action Plan and there is little positive change being seen in schools to date. The next steps outlined by the minister must bring about tangible progress in reducing the incidence of violence, abuse and poor behaviour.”