Teachers tell of stress after Sturgeon call

TEACHERS have described physical and verbal assaults, overwhelming workloads and a lack of staff in schools in letters sent to the Scottish Government.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in October asked teachers to write to her to tell her about their experiences.

A Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Conservatives has released 60 out of 120 letters which were sent during that time.

Amongst the letters, concerns over assaults, as well as difficulty in managing the level of work required, were raised.

In one letter, a teacher writes: “The class teacher was hit, I was kicked and punched. My amazing support staff were subject to repeated kicks to the stomach and were bitten.”

The lack of teaching staff was also cited as a significant issue.