Parents will feel blamed, sidelined and abandoned by new schools behaviour report

The fifth edition of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR) report found staff perceived the majority of pupils to be behaving well.

The report noted a deterioration in some pupil’s behaviour since the last research was conducted in 2016, thought partly to have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and instances of poverty and destitution.

The research also identifies a number of emerging trends in behaviour, including in-school truancy, vaping, disruptive use of mobile phones and misogyny.

However, Scottish Labour Education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy, right, said: “The least staff and pupils should expect at school is to feel safe – this report shows that they don’t.

“We cannot have staff, especially support staff, unable to do their jobs and under immense pressure due to poor behaviour and violence.

“Schools should be safe places of learning – but under the SNP, classrooms are like pressure cookers and staff are unsupported.

“The Cabinet Secretary [Jenny Gilruth] has known about this issue for a long time.

“She must come to the chamber tomorrow with a clear plan of action – nothing else will be good enough.”

At Holyrood on Wednesday, Ms Duncan-Glancy added: “Teachers, parents and pupils will not be able to hide their disappointment at this statement – they will feel blamed, sidelined and abandoned.

“Support staff who are most likely to experience violence and abuse are often the lowest paid staff yet they barely got a mention in the statement today.

“At a time when leadership is needed, I am concerned that the rhetoric today suggests the Cabinet Secretary believes she is simply a bystander – and that this is an issue that can be solved by just training.

“Staff and pupils don’t need warm words from this Cabinet Secretary – they need action.”

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon (Wednesday) during the Education Secretary’s statement on behaviour policy in schools, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP, pictured left, said: “Today’s statement just misses the point. It’s not more training that staff need, it’s more support resources, like educational psychologists and specialist teachers. There is not much at all that’s new on boundaries and consequences.

“Does the Cabinet Secretary really think that this plan is going to cut violence in schools by the time of the next survey?”

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth discussed the findings of the report as she chaired the third Behaviour and Relationships summit, bringing together teachers, union representatives, local authorities and other stakeholders.

The research comes as a further report by Education Scotland shows the impact the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has had on attendance levels for some pupils.

Ms Gilruth said: “We commissioned this research to provide us with the clearest possible picture on behaviour and relationships in schools. It builds upon my own extensive engagement with teachers, school leaders, support staff and local authority colleagues to fully understand how our pupils are interacting with each other and their teachers.

“It is clear from the responses that most teachers report good behaviour amongst pupils – this provides some important nuance to this issue and must be at the forefront of our plans to tackle the instances of disruptive behaviours.

“Young people must not be demonised, and poor behaviour cannot be generalised.

“Our young people have faced a huge amount of disruption in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has been compounded by the current cost of living crisis – this is not unique to Scotland.

“Tomorrow I will set out to Parliament our plans to engage with local authorities and schools to ensure a plan of action is taken forward to tackle instances of poor behaviour at the root as soon as possible. I plan to engage directly with young people on this matter to ensure their voices are front and centre – as well as with teachers and school staff, to ensure they are fully supported in responding to these challenges.”

Following the publication of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research, the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools will begin their consideration of the findings of the research and provide advice on proposed next steps.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research report (BISSR). BISSR is a time series study established in 2006 and usually conducted every three years, bar a break during the pandemic. This edition is the first since 2016.