Rennie: SNP’s national scandal as violence in schools soars

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today urged the government to urgently invest in core education provision and avert a “national scandal,” after his party uncovered that there were more than 13,800 instances of violence in schools during last year alone.    

Data collected from a Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information response revealed that:    

• In 2021/22, there were 10,852 instances of violence in primary schools recorded last year, which was the highest recorded number for the past five years.  

• In 2021/22, there were 2,951 instances of violence in secondary schools recorded last year, which was the highest recorded number for the past five years.    

• In the current school year so far (2022/23), there have been 1,227 instances of violence in primary schools in Fife, which represents an increase of more than a fifth (21%) since 2018    

• In the current school year so far (2022/23), there have been 1,269 instances of violence in primary schools in Moray, which represents an increase of more than a third (35%) since 2018.

Mr Rennie said:      

“The footage from a Fife classroom of one young girl kicking another in the face will stay with me, probably forever. It’s deeply unsettling that similar instances are happening right across Scotland, particularly in primary schools.    

“Since returning after months of lockdown, staff are almost universally reporting a sharp increase in behavioural problems among pupils.    

“Scotland’s political and educational leadership is keeping tight-lipped about it all, but if the Scottish Government doesn’t address this now, it could quickly escalate into a national scandal.  

“We need a considered approach that gets straight to root cause of the violence. Scottish Liberal Democrats would give teachers and staff the resources, support and training to respond effectively and reduce violent incidents. We also need to invest far more in specialist provision, such as classroom assistants, education psychologists and specialist teachers.”