Hundreds of teachers have needed hospital treatment after pupils violence
Thousands of days of teaching time have been lost after staff were injured by violent pupil attacks
Hundreds of teachers needed hospital treatment following attacks by pupils as concerns grow about rising violence in Scottish schools.
Over the past five years, more than 5000 violent attacks required teaching staff to seek medical treatment with more than 200 going to hospital.
The true scale of the issue is expected to be far greater as only 18 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities provided data.
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the Scottish Conservatives show 5,222 incidents were recorded from 2019/20 to 2024/25.
Of these, 225 required the staff members attacked to see a doctor.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Miles Briggs said: “These deeply alarming figures show how teaching staff are being betrayed by the SNP’s soft-touch approach to school discipline.
“Nobody should fear being assaulted in their workplace, yet that is the appalling reality for far too many teachers and support staff.”
Mr Briggs said his party will pledge to give headteachers the power to permanently exclude disruptive pupils in its manifesto.
He said headteachers know what is best for their school, rather than council officials, and that his party’s policy would restore some much-needed discipline to Scotland’s classrooms.
Miles Briggs added that the figures were “deeply alarming” and that the SNP had taken a “soft-touch approach” to school violence for too long.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “There is no place for violence in Scotland's schools and any abuse directed towards teachers is completely unacceptable.”
Freedom of Information requests to local authorities show that, in academic year 2019/20, there were 491 recorded incidents.
In 2024/25, this figure had almost doubled, rising to 1,005 incidents – an increase of 514.
Also, across the academic years 2019-20 to 2024-25 inclusive, there were a total of 5,222 However, 11 local authorities were unable to provide the information and three did not respond.
Of those that did respond, there are more than 200 recorded incidents of teachers attending hospital due to pupil violence.
A breakdown of the figures again shows a sharp rise: in 2019/20, there were 14 incidents of teachers attending hospital, but this was 40 in 2024/25.
The increase of 26 means the figure has almost tripled.
However, only six local authorities provided this specific information, again meaning the true figure will be far higher.
The data released also shows a high number of teaching days being lost to pupil violence.
There are 700 instances of teachers requiring taking time off work due to pupil violence resulting in injury.
Local authorities reported that, in academic year 2019/20, there were 68 recorded incidents of staff requiring time off work as a result of a violent incident.
In 2024/25, this had risen to 174 – an increase of 106, meaning the figure has more than doubled.
Five local authorities reported a combined loss of 2,695 days.
Scottish Borders reported a loss of 1,713 days, Aberdeenshire had 892 days, Midlothian had 88 days, and Angus and Western Isles both had a loss of one day.
Further, just one violent incident against a teacher in Midlothian resulted in a loss of 81 days.
Mr Briggs added: “This is why we have pledged to give headteachers the power to permanently exclude the most violently disruptive pupils from their school.
“They know what is best for their school, rather than unelected council officials. Our plans would restore some much-needed discipline to Scotland’s schools.
“The SNP’s guidance on violence in schools is full of waffle, and they have failed to act for too long on this issue.
“That’s left teachers, support staff and other pupils fearing they will be next to be attacked.
“The Scottish Conservatives are determined to act where the SNP have failed – and we would start by trusting our headteachers to do what’s right to protect staff and pupils.”
School exclusions are currently at their lowest level in large part due to an ethos that young people must be in school to learn and exclusion can lead to greater harm.
In the academic year 2024/5 no pupils were excluded, according to Scottish government figures.
Local authorities have the power to exclude but the Tories argue this should be in the gift of individual headteachers, as it is in England and Wales.
The Scottish government spokesman added: ”Research shows that most pupils are well behaved, with the reduction in exclusions reflecting the hard work that schools and councils are doing to improve behaviour.
“To be clear, exclusions remain an option for schools and can be used as a last resort where appropriate, such as to ensure immediate safety.
“However, evidence shows that exclusion alone rarely leads to behavioural change and can often push vulnerable pupils into unsafe situations outside of school.”
A majority of teachers reported that violent and abusive pupil behaviour had become more common over the last year.
A NASUWT survey in March last year found that 83 per cent of its members said the number of violent and abusive pupils has increased over the previous 12 months.
It also found that more than a third of NASUWT members had been assaulted with a weapon, and 32 per cent of the pupils involved with weapons were aged between four and seven.
Some education experts have argued that violence levels appear higher in Scotland than England and Wales due to more comprehensive reporting methods.
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