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SNP ministers ‘losing touch with reality’ after vowing to stick with soft approach to violent behaviour in schools
Violence against teachers has increased over the past few years
SNP ministers were today accused of “losing touch with reality” after vowing to stick with a softly-softly approach to bad behaviour in schools.
Educationexpert Professor Lindsay Paterson blasted the ScottishGovernmentafter it vowed to continue a “relationships-based approach” to dealing with troublekids- despite a rising tide ofviolenceand misogyny among pupils.
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The method means a “focus onrelationships,restorative practice and nurturing approaches and away from punitive approaches”, a new report said.
The “action plan” on “improving relationships and behaviour in schools” over thenextthree years was released this week alongside guidance saying heads could banmobile phonesif they wanted, after many staff said devices were fuelling a rise in bad behaviour over the past decade.
The new report concededteachershad raised concerns about how relationships-based approach was working on the ground, with staff feeling “disempowered” and saying it had “resulted in a lack of meaningful consequences for disruptive behaviour”.
But Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth’s report cited “general support” for the approach and said: “This plan remains grounded in the national approach of promoting positive relationships and behaviour, and supporting the wellbeing ofchildrenand young people.”
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Ms Gilruth said the action plan for the next three years “contains a series ofstepsto be taken which will ensure that both pupils and staff are safe and supported”.
One of the first tasks - with adeadlineof March 31, 2025 - is to “Develop a clear national definition of relationships and behaviour, including violence and aggression”.
ButEdinburghUniversityeducation policy expert Prof Paterson said teachers had warned the relationship-based approaches were “contributing to the problem”.
He wrote in the Times Scotland: “‘Restorative practices’ sound lovely. Perpetrators sit down with the people they have bullied or attacked, come to understand the hurt that has been caused, andleavea better person.
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“This may be fine in principle, although it can’t even start if the victims are too fearful to engage at all.
It can onlyworkif there is time and staff with appropriate psychological expertise to supervise. These luxuries are absent.”
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Prof Paterson said the Scottish Government “can’t even summon up enough gumption to issue a national ban on mobiles, leaving it up toschoolsto argue it out with resentful adolescents and stroppy parents”.
He added: “You can’t help coming away.. with a sense that the Scottish Government has completely lost touch withreality.”
Prof Paterson said there were schools inScotland“that deal with indiscipline well”, withmobilephonesbanned in the classroom, “behaviour rules are strictly enforced”, and “persistent offenders are temporarily removed from the classroom so that the majority can actually learn something”.
He added: “Yet none of this valuable local experiencefeaturesin the government’s document.”
The plan came after the Behaviour in Scottish SchoolsResearchresearch last year found “challenging behaviour” can be “widespread in secondary school”.
Staff reported a major rise invaping,the use of “misogynistic and explicitly sexualised language” by boys and in-school truancy - where pupils bunk off classes and loiter in corridors, toilets andsocialareas - and “problematic use of mobile phones andsocial media,which was leading to disrupted learning in class, and onlinebullyingand abuse”.
Female staff were more likely than male staff to have encountered at least one incident of physical violence towards themselves in the last 12 months.
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Ms Gilruth said pupils had “experiencedperiodsof significant challenge” including thepandemicand a cost-of-living crisis.
She added: “There is no doubt this has had a major impact on their schooling and how they learn.”