Shocking figures have been revealed that show Renfrewshire Council have reported the highest number of incidents of assaults and abuse towards teachers.
Almost half of Scottish councils have seen a rise in assaults on teachers by pupils in the last three years.
Renfrewshire Council have reported the highest number of incidents in 2013/14, with 277 assaults made on staff.
Staff reported being subjected to physical attacks such as punching, kicking, pushing and shoving and also verbal assaults.
In the last year, one teacher reported having a stone thrown at their head, while others reported being kicked, pushed and spat on.
Overall, there were 1,879 incidents in 2013/14, which was down on 2012/13 but 16% higher than 2011/12.
Stirling and the Western Isles reported one each.
Ten councils saw the number of assaults drop in that period. Another eight Scottish councils either did not respond to the freedom of information request or did not provide full figures.
A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “These figures don’t give an accurate reflection of the position in Renfrewshire compared to other local authorities.
“We do all we can to minimise attacks and to protect and support our employees and this approach means we encourage our employees to report all types of incidents.
“The bulk of these figures refer to verbal aggression or confrontation and not physical attacks. They also apply to all employees within the school and not just teachers. However we take all incidents extremely seriously and we work hard to reduce the number of violent incidents against our employees.
“We put a lot of work into supporting youngsters to change their behaviour. This includes working with parents. But where an incident merits an exclusion we are prepared to use that option.”
The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through freedom of information requests.
Council |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
Dumgal |
12 |
20 |
14 |
Shetland |
19 |
6 |
22 |
Moray |
97 |
66 |
66 |
Argyll and Bute |
5 |
8 |
12 |
Midlothian |
12 |
24 |
24 |
Angus |
80 |
92 |
102 |
North Ayrshire |
36 |
14 |
27 |
Orkney |
40 |
6 |
4 |
Glasgow |
67 |
71 |
53 |
Aberdeenshire |
19 |
24 |
36 |
Dundee |
216 |
258 |
177 |
Falkirk |
110 |
77 |
68 |
East Renfrewshire |
58 |
58 |
32 |
East Dunbartonshire |
78 |
60 |
51 |
Scottish Borders |
169 |
224 |
179 |
South Ayrshire |
46 |
146 |
155 |
Renfrewshire |
237 |
237 |
277 |
Stirling |
8 |
2 |
1 |
South Lanarkshire |
133 |
160 |
262 |
Inverclyde |
8 |
17 |
11 |
West Dunbartonshire |
40 |
34 |
42 |
Western Isles |
11 |
6 |
1 |
East Ayrshire |
16 |
30 |
52 |
North Lanarkshire |
100 |
277 |
211 |
Total |
1617 |
1917 |
1879 |
The following councils did not provide figures for 2013/14: East Lothian, Aberdeen, Perth and Kinross, Edinburgh.