Teachers need protecting from violence with attacks on rise by children
No one deserves to be assaulted at their place of work. But for teachers, it's becoming a daily concern in some schools.
At a time when violence in society is in long-term decline, one-in-three violent offences in Scotland is now committed by children – with attacks on teachers blamed for the massive rise.
A quarter of all violent offences are carried out by children against adults in their place of work – with teacher assaults understood to be the majority of these incidents.
It can't be repeated too many times that the majority of pupils are hard-working, polite and want to enjoy their time at school.
But there remains a minority who seem to revel in the fact that discipline in some classrooms – such as the threat of exclusion – has been removed almost entirely.
Many parents will be left scratching their heads over a policy which allows regular troublemakers to avoid consequences.
For many years, well-meaning government ministers and local council education chiefs were tied to the mantra of 'inclusiveness'.
This misguided policy made it almost impossible to exclude the worst-behaved children. On paper this might have sounded like a good idea. But in the real world it gave a free pass for bad behaviour.
It is teachers and well-behaved pupils who are left to deal with the inevitable breakdown in school discipline.
If some pupils are repeatedly violent, they must be removed from the classroom for the benefit of others. Classrooms can't be run for the benefit of the worst behaved.
Teachers and parents understand. So why doesn't the government?
Poverty gamble
Gordon Brown's record as chancellor in cutting poverty was second to none. Children and pensioner incomes were boosted and lives were transformed under the last Labour government.
But much of that good work was undone by heartless Tory administrations from 2010 onwards.
More than 4.5million children are living in poverty in the UK and the numbers are projected to go up. Keir Starmer wants to cut child poverty but he is hamstrung by a lack of money.
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Brown's suggestion today that the Government take kids out of poverty by tackling the obscene profits of the gambling industry is positive.
Many people like a flutter but gambling firm profits are also based on misery. Oil and gas firms pay a super tax in recognition of the damage done by their industry.
Taxing gambling firms more to scrap the two child tax is a cause everyone should back.
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