Scots classrooms the most violent in Britain

Soft response slated as 500 staff seriously hurt in 10 years

- By Richard Elias

SCOTLAND'S classrooms are the most violent in the UK, a shocking new survey has revealed.

There have been almost 500 serious injuries inflicted on school staff in a 10-year period.

These include fractures, dislocations and loss of consciousness.

Of these, two-thirds of injuries occurred in primary schools.

Yesterday, critics questioned whether a "softly-softly" approach to tackling troublemakers in Scottish schools was making the situation worse.

The figures were revealed following a Freedom of Information request. It found the country had the highest rate of violent injuries to school staff in Britain.

The statistics, obtained by Channel 4 News FactCheck, showed that between March 2014 and March 2024 there were 490 reports of serious injuries to school staff in Scotland caused by violence.

The rate is higher than Wales and all English regions, once adjusted for population.

These latest findings, released by the Health and Safety Executive following an FOI, follow previous revelations about a rising number of violent injuries to teachers and other school staff across the UK.

Scotland saw 91 injuries logged in the latest year three times the number seen 10 years before and the fastest rise of anywhere in Britain.

Mike Corbett, Scotland National Official for the NASUWT teaching union, called the findings "hugely disturbing".