Government promises "exclusion does remain an option" for schools

The Herald Scotland

08-05-2025

When pressed by opposition members on concerns that teachers feel they are not fully supported in removing violent pupils from classrooms, Ms Gilruth said that "exclusion does remain an option" for staff.
In her statement, Ms Gilruth focused on steps taken to update and implement guidance for staff on dealing with various behaviours, including inappropriate mobile phone use and filming and sharing fights on social media.
She said that she is "particularly concerned" about the influence of online content, gender-based violence and the role that the education system plays in countering "the harms of the far-right."
'Our classrooms, in my view, can act to hold up a mirror to who we are as a society. We should not divorce wider societal shifts from behaviour in Scotland's schools, therefore.
'Gender-based violence should not be tolerated in our society. Important conversations are needed about how to address the attitudes that are influencing this."
Members raised concerns about delays in the publication of additional guidance and agreed-upon definitions of the various types of behaviour described.
Conservative MSP Miles Briggs expressed "deep concerns" about the progress of the action plan, stating that some teachers and parents he has spoken to are unaware that it exists.
Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said the action plan has been "too little, too late."
The Scottish Government and Ms Gilruth have been committed to tackling the growing problem of disruptive behaviour in schools.
In 2023, the government announced it would be putting together a multi-year plan to address behaviours including verbal and physical abuse and violence in schools.
This came directly off the back of Behaviour In Scottish Schools Research (BISSR), in which a third of teachers reported experiencing verbal abuse in the past week, 16% reported facing physical aggression, and 11% experienced physical violence directed towards themselves or colleagues.
The research went further to show that there were also high rates of verbal abuse, physical aggression and violence between pupils.
In August 2024, the government released its three-year national action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools.
Since then, concerns about the impact of disruptive and violent behaviour have continued to filter out of Scottish schools. In March, a NASUWT union survey found that female teachers are more likely to face physical abuse or violence, with 49% reporting attacks in the past year.
NASUWT president David Anderson told the union's annual conference that far-right influences from social media are helping fuel concerning behaviours in Scotland's schools.
Teachers in East Dunbartonshire took industrial action over concerns that pupils were not being held accountable for incidents of alleged violence and verbal abuse.
In March, a whistleblower highlighted concerns about physical and verbal abuse taking place in Glasgow primary schools, saying that teachers 'face violence on a daily basis.'
The government's action plan is not only about addressing violence and abuse. There is also a commitment to finding solutions for other forms of disruption, including mobile phone use during class time, vaping, in-school truancy and the rise of misogyny and 'explicitly sexualised language' amongst boys and young men.
SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said that pupils act as if there are "few if any tangible consequences" for their behaviour, and earned a promise from Ms Gilruth that the updated guidance on consequences and reporting incidents will be in place by the Autumn term.