Campaign urges ‘be kind’ TEACHER ASSAULTS AVERAGE TWO A DAY

Hundreds of attacks in schools

A Perth woman who has suffered from bullying and harassment has urged people to“be kind”after the tragic death of TV host Caroline Flack.

Katie McCandless-Thomas appealed for people to make a concerted effort to avoid causing unnecessary pain through social media comments.

Katie (inset above) was joined by other organisations across Perth and Kinross who took to social media to encourage people suffering from mental health problems to seek the support and help they need.

Ms Flack (above) was found dead on Saturday after taking her own life.

FULL STORY:

School teachers in Perth and Kinross were physically assaulted on average nearly twice every school day last year, according to recent figures.

Teachers were either hit, kicked, pushed or nipped on 271 occasions from January to October 2019, as revealed in a FOI request to Perth and Kinross Council.

As a result of these concerning incidents, a temporary exclusion was enforced 21 times over this period, which covers around 140 school days, with some teachers taking a temporary leave of absence as a result.

Police were even called to a Perthshire school on at least one occasion during this time.

Methven Primary School, Letham Primary School and Fairview School had the highest number of the reported assault incidents from January to October last year.

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “Whilst the request is related to ‘physical attacks’, we report here incidents classified as ‘physical assault’ and this captures a wide range of behaviour that can range in severity from being nipped or pushed, to being hit or kicked.

“Note that 0.6 per cent of the pupil population in Perth and Kinross Council schools are involved in incidents of physical assault towards staff members, which includes teachers.

“The great majority of our pupils are well behaved. Perth and Kinross Council does not tolerate misbehaviour in our schools. The care and welfare of both our pupils and our staff are a priority. Any incident reported is investigated and appropriate action taken.”

A spokesperson for Educational Institute of Scotland, the world’s oldest teacher trade union, said:“The EIS is clear that a zero tolerance approach should be taken to incidents involving violence or the threat of violence towards teachers and it is essential that when serious incidents do occur, they are dealt with swiftly.

“Pupils can display disruptive or aggressive behaviour for a wide range of reasons and it is important we take steps to understand the variable causes of that behaviour.

“Local authorities have a duty of care to all their employees and it is important they take the necessary steps to ensure that our schools are as safe as possible, without damaging the open and welcoming environment that our schools seek to provide.

“The vast majority of young people in our schools are positively engaged in their learning and like their teachers deserve to feel safe and secure at school.”