More than 4,000 school staff in Glasgow subjected to violence, report finds

Concerns that more than 4,000 school staff in Glasgow last year were subjected to different levels of violence have been raised by a Labour councillor.

It comes following a report last month by the GMB trade union, which highlighted that 4,662 incidents had taken place in Glasgow schools in 2023, with more than 200 staff being verbally abused or physically assaulted across Scotland every day.

The GMB said the data suggests most reported incidents involved violence, not threats or verbal abuse, with women workers.

During Thursday’s full council meeting, councillor Jill Pidgeon questioned what impact any future cuts to the education budget would have on teacher morale.

Councillor Pidgeon said: “In a report by the GMB last month, they revealed that over 200 school staff in Scotland per day are abused, and in Glasgow alone last year, 4,662 incidents were reported.

“The GMB has described these figures as the tip of the iceberg and, although shocking, not surprising. Teachers in staff are under increasing pressure and stres,s and this report shows how much of an issue the violence is.

“Can the convenor tell us today what their understanding of the impact on future cuts to the education budget already agreed by the SNP councillors last year will mean for teachers last year will remain for teacher morale and violence in schools?”

Councillor Allan Casey, City Convener for Workforce, assured members that they were working with trade unions and staff to ensure that these challenges were addressed.

Councillor Casey said: “I would remind the Labour group that if their budget had passed, 650 teachers would have been lost due to the Labour budget, so I will take no lectures from them in terms of cutting teacher numbers.

“The hypocrisy has been ranked in this chamber, and we need to be honest with this chamber and members of the public.

“In terms of reportable incidents, absolutely, we are working with our teaching trade unions and our staff to make sure that we are encouraging reporting so we can address the challenges we are facing.”

The convenor then added that the council was working on several initiatives to encourage staff to report any incidents formally.

He continued: “There are several initiatives that the department has been undertaking to raise awareness about the reporting mechanisms that exist and encourage staff to report any incidents formally.

“Violent incident recordings can range from low-level threats to potential physical injury. While there has been an increase of around 34% in reported incidents year on year, which gives us a better insight into what is happening in schools, the number of reported incidents has not significantly increased year on year.

“We have been working with our trade union colleagues and our staff. We have introduced a working group which is made up of the trade unions and our management team and is a great support to our staff.

“We are improving our existing guidance to staff and managers.”