Primary support staff have been victims of pupil violence, research shows

According to research by the Scottish Government, over a quarter of primary school support staff have had pupils be physically aggressive and violent towards them in the previous year.

This includes support staff experience pupils “squaring up”, “punching”, “kicking”, “headbutting”, and “using weapons”.

As reported by Tes, the figures which look into the behaviour of schools show that violence and aggression towards primary support staff is at its highest level since the government began this collection of data in 2006.

Twenty-seven per cent of primary support staff who took part in a survey, which was conducted last year, reported they had experienced physical aggression, including “pushing” and “squaring up”, in the past 12 months, while 26 per cent of primary support staff reported they had experienced physical violence, including “punching”, “kicking” and “headbutting”.

Eleven per cent of 400 primary support staff surveyed also noted that they had experienced six or more incidences of pupil violence in the previous year.

About thirteen individuals said they had encountered pupil violence who had used a weapon.

Over 4,000 headteachers, teachers and support staff across primary and secondary took part in Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2016.