Responding to the publication of the second progress report on the Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Action Plan and new guidance on tackling attendance, substance abuse and racism in schools, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
“While we welcome the publication of new guidance for schools on tackling the issues of attendance, substance abuse and racist incidents in schools, the fact remains that nearly two years on from the launch of the Behaviour Action Plan we are still receiving regular reports from teachers across Scotland about incidents of serious violence and abuse in schools.
“It is clear that too many schools are failing to put into practice the measures set out in the plan and that teachers are continuing to be left vulnerable to verbal and physical attacks from pupils, as well as lower level disruption which affects their ability to teach and of pupils to learn.
“We need stronger mechanisms to be put in place to ensure greater accountability and joined up practices across schools, local authorities and the government so that there is consistency of practice across the country when it comes to setting expectations for behaviour in schools and in sanctions for violent and disruptive behaviour.
“Only then are we likely to see a decisive shift in reducing levels of abuse in our schools.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:
“The provision of new and previous guidance to schools is necessary and valuable in tacking some of the root causes of poor behaviour from pupils.
“It is a tribute to the persistence of our black members and black teachers across Scotland that we now have guidance which explicitly recognises that racism and racist incidents in schools remains a problem and, importantly, that it is the responsibility of every school to take active steps to challenge racism.
“Likewise, the provision of guidance for schools on how to address substance abuse among pupils is welcome. It is an issue that affects every school and teachers and leaders need clear guidelines on where their responsibilities lie.
“However, the challenge on behaviour remains in translating what is on the page into action in the classroom.
“School staff have not been offered any additional time, resources or funding to implement the behaviour guidance published to date and there is insufficient oversight of what is happening across schools and local authorities in terms of how and to what extent the guidance is being used.
“Teachers need to see a reduction in abuse from pupils in their classrooms and they need to feel safe and know their employer has their back when and if violence and disruption occurs. The reality is that we remain a long way from that being the case for every teacher and we need to see more focused and concerted measures taken by government and local authorities to put words into action.”
