Latest news with #MilesBriggs
Scotsman
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Record numbers of pupils with additional support needs in Edinburgh schools
The number of Edinburgh pupils with additional support needs has rocketed to record levels in the past decade, according to latest figures. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Lothian MSP and Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said ASN pupils now represented 39 per cent of the Capital's primary school population and 52 per cent of its secondary school population. He spelled out the figures as the Scottish Government agreed, during a debate on the issue at Holyrood, to a national review of additional support for learning, the implementation of mainstreaming policy and the availability of ASN places. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Briggs said since 2014 the number of ASN pupils had increased by 15,000 - from 9,095 to 24,127 - while in the same period only 10 new ASN teachers were recruited. The number of pupils in special schools had also grown in the 10-year period, from 659 to 712, while two special schools had closed, leaving only 10 in Edinburgh. Mr Briggs highlighted a "damning" report published by Audit Scotland earlier this year, which said the Scottish Government had failed to plan effectively for the potential impact of providing additional support to pupils, even though this was "an increasingly core part of what classroom teachers do". He said: 'Teachers and students alike are overwhelmed and under-supported, suffering under a lack of leadership and funding from the SNP. It is clear there needs to be a fundamental review into how ASN support is being delivered in Scotland's schools. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We need to see immediate action to understand if the SNP's presumption of mainstream education is what is best for ASN pupils and for resources to be put into a national programme of training in our classrooms. 'Ministers who have presided over a general decline in Scottish education cannot continue to ignore these warnings and must now back our calls for a different approach.' In the debate, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the Scottish Government had provided more than £1 billion in the past financial year for additional support needs. And she said that including ASN pupils in mainstream schools had been recognised as a strength of Scotland's education system. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But she accepted Mr Briggs' call for a review. And she said: "I propose that, at the earliest possible opportunity, we engage in a round table, along with local government and Cosla, to talk about what more might be done to support additional support needs in our schools." Edinburgh education convener James Dalgleish said: 'Providing resources for children with additional support needs is a priority for the council and this includes delivering the right support, resources and staffing where and when it is needed to ensure that all learners in Edinburgh thrive at school. This includes special school provision, support from school staff or from our specialist support teams, including our educational psychologists and trained ASN teachers, who support children and young people in our schools every day. 'As is the case across the country, additional support needs are rising across Edinburgh. Whilst we remain committed to providing essential support to the city's children and young people, cuts to council budgets over many years is at odds with the vital support we want to put in place. I ask the Scottish Government to go further in providing additional resources to local authorities like Edinburgh to support the important work we are already doing in specific areas such as supporting learners with additional support needs."
The Herald Scotland
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Government promises 'exclusion does remain an option' for schools
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. Read more: 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.
The Herald Scotland
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Government promises "exclusion does remain an option" for schools
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.
Scotsman
08-05-2025
- Scotsman
Edinburgh secondary schools see physical and verbal assaults double in four years
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Physical and verbal attacks in Edinburgh secondary schools have almost doubled in four years, according to new figures. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Statistics obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through a Freedom of Information request show that there were 187 incidents of verbal and physical assault in Edinburgh high schools in 2023/24 compared to 97 in 2019/20 - an increase of 92 per cent. Violence in Edinburgh schools is on the rise A recent report by the NASUWT teachers' union described teachers being assaulted with knives, chairs, hockey sticks, fireworks, and more. Some 80 per cent of respondents to the union survey reported being threatened with a weapon by a pupil and 90 per cent had been verbally abused. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The survey found 44 per cent of respondents had experienced physical abuse in the last 12 months. And only 12 per cent felt that appropriate action had been taken after an incident. They reported that it was 'frowned upon' to be disciplinary and that senior management assumed that behavioural issues were the fault of the teacher. Another Conservative FoI recently revealed Edinburgh council was one of several local authorities which had received requests for self-defence training by teachers. And Alison Murphy, Edinburgh secretary of Scotland's biggest teachers' union, the Educational Institute of Scotland told a public meeting in February that teachers were being scratched, bitten and having bones broken in attacks by pupils. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A breakdown of the statistics showed incident of physical assault in Edinburgh secondary schools increased from 73 i 2019/20 to 137 in 2023/24; physical assault with a weapon was down from 13 to six; and verbal abuse was up from 11 to 44. In primary schools, the total figure was down from 98 to 71 between 2019/20 and 2023/24. Physical assaults fell from 60 to 44; physical assault with a weapon was down from 12 to four; and verbal abuse dropped from 26 to 23. Lothian MSP and Tory eduction spokesman Miles Briggs said: 'Due to typical complacency and pride the SNP is far too late on this issue. I have been ringing the alarm bells on violence in schools for years and only now, when teachers are leaving the profession and requesting self-defence classes, is John Swinney taking notice. 'SNP ministers should feel embarrassed and ashamed that classroom violence in Edinburgh has increased by 92%. The fact that this is a nationwide problem means that the blame cannot simply be handed on to local authorities, as the SNP have tried to do so far. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'For the safety and sanity of Scotland's teachers, and the vast majority of well-behaved pupils, this has to stop. Rather than hand-wringing and warm words, the government must propose a zero-tolerance plan to stop the abuse, intimidation and violence in schools so that teachers feel safe, valued and supported.' Education convener Joan Griffiths said: 'We have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse against teachers and support staff working in our schools, and any reports of these incidences are taken extremely seriously. 'We offer training to teachers and support staff where required, to ensure that they are equipped to deal with any instances of pupil violence in an appropriate wa 'In addition to supporting staff when this does occur, we have extensive programmes to promote positive behaviour and to manage behaviours of concern in school, so we can try and reduce the number of incidents. Our focus is on getting it right for Edinburgh's children and staff.'
The Herald Scotland
27-04-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish health minister admits 'influence' on chronic pain research
Minto says there was no intention to 'minimise or undermine' patient experiences. But The Herald has uncovered a Government official dictating in advance to researchers the levels Government sought of pain causing little and even no impact on activities. Campaigners now want all health research checked for interference. For over two years, there's been secrecy over this Pain Management report, while NHS clinics dealing with serious pain are being discussed in private by the same officials in a Government 'Task Force'. Read more: Hundreds of Scottish pain patients dying in agony in NHS queues (add link) Health Secretary Neil Gray and John Paul Marks, head of Scotland's civil service wouldn't even reply to letters from MSPs Miles Briggs and Monica Lennon. Minto herself acknowledged complaints but excluded answers on the report until now. Secrecy meant Freedom of Information had to be used to discover officials had replaced authenticated volunteers with people paid £200 each, commercially recruited. But what amounts to shambolic and ignorant Government interference in health research is now shown in a letter by Minto to Labour's Rhoda Grant MSP who persisted, like the SNP's Fergus Ewing, Conservative Miles Briggs and Holyrood's Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain, in pushing for truth. Now, the public health minister: Admits the term 'no impact' for three patients was 'Proposed by the Scottish Government – participant patients did not use the term no impact themselves'. Admits that 16 people 'were not asked if they were diagnosed by a health professional' But this was not revealed. Admits Govt included three of the self-diagnosed who also self-medicated from the internet. Admits the Scottish Government sought people who 'self-reported chronic pain but did not experience any impact on their activities'. Ministers and officials in charge of Scotland's health clearly did not know that three learned bodies state that 'no impact is not a recognised category with chronic pain' 'Chronic pain does not exist without having any impact. - sufferers have to make life choices, changes, compromises." states the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. An email shows private researchers, The Lines Between, had told Clinical Priorities they couldn't find any with no impact'. But an official insisted the researchers persist, saying 'We are still very keen to recruit from this group', urging the Lines Between to try their recruitment firm again (which uses social media)Three were later classed no impact, ludicrously in the case of an Inverness woman, quoted in the report stating she was on pain relief from her GP and 'had severe migraines and sciatica and could hardly walk'. She was marked 'no impact'. Two others, also from Inverness, were also marked 'no impact' without explanation. Ms Minto now admits that no impact meant only at time of being asked on the patient panel. Minto added: 'It did not mean that they had never experienced any impact from their chronic pain'. But the report doesn't say that. This is an extraordinary statement from anyone in charge of health and lives. We don't know if patients were aware how impact was classed on the day. Although not officially diagnosed, they do describe real suffering especially those at high level. The small numbers suffering at high level produced under Clinical Priorities officials contrast with many other reports. Public Health Scotland surveyed 92 chronic pain patients in 2022, finding 82% reported high suffering, 16% a little. They found 'only one person in 92 said their chronic pain does not limit their activities' That contrasts with three out of 16 claimed to have no impact, seven little and only six out of 16 in serious pain, in the Government officials' handling. Minto now says, over two years later, it was a mistake to use no impact without explanation, adding: 'The wording no impact that we chose has clearly created the unintended impression that experiences shared by some participants were being undermined or minimised'. But suffering levels were dictated and minimised ahead of the report. An FOI-released email to the Parliament's cross party group showed a senior official at the Clinical Priorities Unit dictated patient numbers and suffering levels to researchers in August 2022, long before November publication. The report is still circulating in connection with a new pain 'Framework' where the same Unit's officials are also recommending on patients' future services. Suffering 'a lot' was to be in the minority compared with a combination of little and no impact. A name-redacted Clinical Priorities official wrote to private researchers in advance asking them to 'adjust the quotas/targets on impact' on numbers suffering to: 'A lot' – 7 'A little' – 11 – 12 - 'Not at all' – 2 – 3 (also called no impact) The finished Government report showed only six high impact, seven little impact and three no impact. Former health secretary Alex Neil said he was appalled and called for an independent probe into health work, saying of Govt interference: 'This is shocking. You don't do this to research in advance. It's totally dishonest. Anyone from Government suggesting such sharp practices should be disciplined. There should be a complete clear out and new people brought in who can be trusted.' When he was health secretary, he 'would have sent back anything if it was manipulated like that'. Clinical Priorities officials already recommend policy on nine major issues – long covid, stroke, diabetes, respiratory conditions, heart disease, endometriosis, out of hospital cardiac arrest, neurological conditions, chronic pain. Read more: The sorry tale of Scotland's chronic pain crisis Professor Lindsay Paterson of Edinburgh University's School of Social and Political Science thought the situation 'very disturbing'. He is not involved with chronic pain, 'but all this is similar to what has been noted in other connections, such as sex and gender' – a reference to pressure from government-paid groups in the trans controversy. Prof Paterson declared the need for urgent investigation on wider influence, stating: "There is a real problem in Scottish policy research that the people who commission it are sometimes unhealthily close to the researchers who do it. This can compromise the independence of researchers and the objectivity of research reports. To assess the extent of the problem, and point to ways forward, the Scottish Parliament should commission a report from a distinguished researcher based outside Scotland who has not recently had any research funding from the Scottish Government." Professor Lindsay Paterson of Edinburgh University's School of Social and Political Science called the situation 'very disturbing' (Image: Edinburgh University) Although a private firm was used on pain, Prof Paterson also wanted universities to be more protected. 'If a researcher is under pressure from their university or other employer to take the money, even with the possibility of Government interference, then the researcher should say that in public, so there is wider public debate on what is happening.' On The Herald expose, he remarked: 'This confirms the importance of researchers refusing to give in to pressure from the Scottish Government. That must mean they should insist on this in the contract.' Some treatment cuts have already happened under a Nicola Sturgeon policy, still pursued. Sturgeon wrote in Sept 2020 she wanted to 'reduce reliance' on NHS specialist pain clinics for out patients and increase self-management. Patients protested this was false economy, claiming that withdrawing key treatments would increase costs and GP and emergency work. Conflict of interest But Jenni Minto is now set to let the Clinical Priorities Unit, now renamed the Long Term Conditions Policy Unit, tackle an even bigger project, increasing their influence on health. Chronic pain has around 800,00 Scottish sufferers, all long term conditions are estimated at over a million to 1.5 million in Scotland. There's to be yet another Consultation, so far with the same unit. Although renamed, they have the same Unit head, Will Wood and mostly the same staff. Wood wrote last year to the voluntary cross party group refusing to answer questions on the report. He is also deputy chair of the Pain Management Task Force recommending to ministers on patients' future treatments. Using the same Unit to commission and supervise research and also recommend on patients' future treatments is a major patient concern, which the pain group calls 'direct conflict of interest and surely against Human Rights protections on disability'. Minto was informed by patients at a March 12 meeting, that they did not want this Unit involved again in any capacity. Ian Semmons, the disabled founder of Action on Pain, a leading UK Charity, says the way pain suffering is treated by the Scottish Government is the worst he's encountered in the UK and Europe. Read more: Revealed: Hidden scandal of chronic pain wait times He wants an urgent investigation into health handling at the top. 'In over 30 years of chairing our charity, my journey has taken me across these islands and well beyond. Our charity's experience and knowledge have been valued and helped shape some services in the world. The Scottish Government stands in shocking contrast to all I've dealt with in the way it ignores patients. The behaviour of its official team beggars belief.' He volunteered for a previous SG advisory group he called 'another sham'. 'The constant barriers of delay, deceit, intimidation and bullying mixed with sheer arrogance left me angered and in despair. I've no axe to grind I wanted to help patients, but patients are treated like outcasts by this Government. People must be held to account, as they've all clearly demonstrated why they should no longer be in their roles.' The Government's £19 billion health and care budget has given no extra money to NHS hospital pain clinics. Government officials didn't inform voluntary patients with known conditions that they sought a 'patient panel'. Commercial recruiters were told to exclude 'patient advocates' and those with prior knowledge of Government groups, claiming only 'little heard' people were sought. Such a diktat deprives patients of anyone with knowledge on their side. The report was signed off by former public health minister Maree Todd, now minister for social care, mental health and sport. But her successor Jenni Minto has long defended the report. Todd's original welcome of the report is now removed online. A new Consultation on almost all long-term conditions was proposed in October 2024, but no clear information since. Jenni Minto has so far relied on the same officials patients want changed urgently. Patients have had no details and fear yet another consultation will mean no action on shortages until 2026 election time or after.
