New report shows violent and disruptive behaviour rising in Scots schools

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Violent and disruptive behaviour is rising in Scottish schools, according to a new report.Thousands of headteachers, teachers and support staff have shared their views on pupil behaviour and relationships in schools up and down the country.According to the fifth edition of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR) report published today, there has been “a general worsening of pupil behaviour” in Scotland since 2016, thought partly to have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and instances of poverty and destitution.While teachers said general behaviour, on the whole, was good, they said they had experienced a decrease in positive behaviour - including respecting communal areas and queuing orderly - and increases in low-level disruption, disengagement and serious disruptive behaviour in school.The research also identifies a number of emerging trends in behaviour, including in-school truancy, vaping, disruptive use of mobile phones and misogyny.School staff reported that the most common forms of serious disruptive behaviours between pupils were physical and verbal abuse, particularly physical aggression, general verbal abuse and physical violence.Two-thirds (67 per cent) had encountered general verbal abuse, 59 per cent physical aggression and 43 per cent physical violence between pupils in the classroom.A higher proportion of support staff reported having experienced the greatest number (21 or more) instances of physical aggression and violence towards them in the last 12 months compared with other staff.

The abusive use of mobile phones and digital technologies was one of the most frequently experienced serious disruptive behaviours among secondary staff, as were general verbal abuse between pupils and