Exclusive:'Inexcusable tide of violence': Councils pay £1 million in compensation to injured school staff
School staff across Scotland have been paid £1 million in compensation after violent incidents in city primaries and secondaries
Nearly £1 million in compensation has been paid out to school staff across Scotland in what has been blamed on an “inexcusable tide of violence”.
The sum was handed out by local authorities as the result of successful claims from teachers, support staff or classroom assistants injured as a result of violence from pupils.
Midlothian Council paid out more than double the next highest amount in damages at nearly £200,000 over the past five years.
Of the councils that responded to a freedom of information request by The Scotsman, Glasgow City Council came second - paying out £90,000 in redress.
Edinburgh, where the largest individual claim paid out was more than £43,000, paid £80,000 in total.
Midlothian Council did not respond to a request for comment.
Glasgow had, by far, the highest number of claims at 50 - compared to the next highest of 17 in East Lothian.
Some local authorities had no claims.
Unions have said rising compensation payments to victims are a symptom of the growing problem of violence in schools.
Scottish Conservative Edinburgh councillor Marie-Clair Munro sits on Edinburgh’s education committee.
She called the figures “deeply concerning” and a result of “an alarming and inexcusable tide of violence in Scotland’s schools”.
Ms Munro said schools were having to use “ineffective ‘action plans’ and inadequate guidance” issued by the Scottish Government.
“As a result of SNP Government dithering, Edinburgh taxpayers will be saddled with a bill for compensation payments — and it’s likely to be repeated right across the country,” she said.
“Ministers must finally take action to protect hard-working teachers and the well-behaved majority of pupils who simply want to be able to study in a safe environment.”
Figures show that, over the past five years, £878,393.80 has been paid out by Scotland’s local authorities.
Five councils did not respond to the request for information.
Glasgow was the only local authority to supply a breakdown of specifics of the incidents.
The council paid £7500 in liability and £9181 in legal costs when a staff member was assaulted three times in one day by a pupil in an incident that resulted in court action.
In an incident where a teacher was assaulted by a young person the council paid £5683.2 in legal costs and £10,994 in liability.
Some £2000 was paid out when a pupil tripped up a school staff member.
The highest sum paid out was £18,276 when a teacher was pulled to the ground by a pupil.
One of the Glasgow City Council compensation claims included £200 for a broken pair of glasses.
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Verbal or physical abuse of any form against our workforce is never acceptable and processes are in place to compensate staff if warranted.”
Councillor James Dalgleish, Education, Children and Families Convener for Edinburgh City Council, said the local authority had a “zero-tolerance approach” against abuse.
Reports of any incidents, he added, “are taken extremely seriously”.
Mr Dalgleish said: “We offer training to teachers and support staff working in our schools where required, to ensure that they are equipped to deal with any instances of pupil violence in an appropriate way.
“In addition to supporting staff when this does occur, we have extensive programmes to promote positive behaviour and to manage behaviours of concern in school, so we can try and reduce the number of incidents.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland national official, said these types of financial awards could commonly indicate the fact staff are no longer able to work due to the physical or mental injury sustained in the classroom.
Mr Corbett said: “If all employers took seriously their duty of care to their employees, much public money could be saved and school staff would not have to go through the distress and anxiety associated with violent assaults.
“Many such compensation cases are the result of a failure by employers to put in place effective behaviour management systems or to take seriously the threat posed by some pupils to fellow students or staff members.”
The largest sum, of £43,284.46, was paid out in 2021/22 and the smallest, in 2023/24, was £375. Payments of £30,673.20 and £7,563.20 were also handed over. In one year, no compensation payments were made.
An EIS spokesman said: “Schools should be safe places to work and to learn, and no member of staff should ever be subjected to violence or the threat of violence at work. Local authorities must place a priority on ensuring that schools are safe places for students and staff alike.
“In cases where staff have been subjected to violence, the authority must provide its full support to victims.”
Scotland on Sunday previously shared a diary from a secondary school teacher in Glasgow who detailed casual violence and disrespect from pupils in their school.
They claimed existing methods used across Scotland such as restorative justice and a presumption against exclusion are exacerbating an increasing problem of difficult and violent pupil behaviour.
The EIS spokesman added: “Rising compensation payments to victims in recent years are a symptom of the growing problem of violence in schools, which must be tackled by local authorities and the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency.”
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