More pupils attacking teachers with weapons, yet fewer children expelled

Published on Tuesday 26 January 2010 21:50

THE number of violent assaults on staff and pupils in Scottish schools increased last year, despite an overall fall in permanent and temporary exclusions.

Figures released yesterday showed that while the number of pupils excluded from schools fell by 15 per cent, assaults by pupils on other pupils showed a slight increase.

And the number of pupils assaulting staff with a weapon also jumped, from 92 to 102.

Education experts have cast doubt on the overall expulsion figure, saying the report hides the pressure exerted on head teachers not to exclude even the most violent pupils from their schools.

Anne Ballinger, general secretary of the Secondary School Teachers Association, last night said she suspected authorities were failing to include other forms of exclusion such as placing children in behavioural support units (BSUs) in the results.

She said: "I have serious questions over these statistics and what is not included in them.

"I suspect that the figures do not include those pupils removed from the classroom and placed into alternative situations such as behavioural support units. Furthermore I have anecdotal evidence from head teachers that they are under pressure from local authorities not to exclude pupils for the sake of good statistical results."

Mrs Ballinger added she was shocked at the small number of permanent exclusions for more serious violent incidents. She added: "Members come to me with stories of pupils waving machete-type weapons in classroom one day, but being back in school the next.

"They are afraid for their staff's safety, but they are not being allowed to exclude these pupils."

Of the 302 reported assaults on a pupil with a weapon, only two pupils were permanently excluded. And only one of the 102 pupils who assaulted staff with a weapon was permanently excluded.

Despite the rise in violent assaults, the minister for skills and lifelong learning, Keith Brown, hailed "exciting, relevant and engaging" classes as a major factor behind the fall in exclusions.

Speaking from Lochend Community High School in Easterhouse Glasgow, which has achieved significant reductions in pupil exclusions in recent years, he said: "Schools work hard to prevent situations escalating to the stage where pupil exclusion from school becomes a necessary step.

"These figures show the many approaches schools and local authorities have in place are having a real impact, with exclusions down by 15 per cent.

"Alongside measures such as restorative practices and nurture groups, we can continue to reduce the need for exclusions."

Pupils were excluded from school 33,917 times – either temporarily or permanently – in 2008-9, down 15 percent from the previous year's total.

The cases involved about 18,100 pupils and in more than 99 percent of cases last year the pupils were temporarily excluded.

The results also showed that deprivation plays an important factor in the likelihood of exclusion.

Rates of exclusions per 1,000 pupils were almost eight times greater for pupils living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas compared with pupils living in the 20 per cent least deprived.