Nearly half of Aberdeen's teachers have considered leaving amid rise in abuse

A survey from the Aberdeen City branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) suggests almost a third of teachers have been physically assaulted by pupils in the 2021/22 session.

It also suggests 47.46 per cent have considered leaving, either agreeing (26.65 per cent) or strongly agreeing (20.81 per cent).

Nearly 28.54 per cent of teachers indicated that they have been physically assaulted and half of all teachers describe when reporting a violent incident that it was not satisfactorily resolved. The two main forms of assault reported by respondents were being punched or kicked by a pupil. And other forms of assault included spitting, being struck with an object and biting.

Over half of teachers (54.14 per cent) also indicated an increase in verbal abuse, including racist, homophobic and sexist specific.

One respondent said: "Inclusion has gone too far. Classrooms must prioritise the most damaged/violent children to survive the day. What are the rest of the children learning? Absolutely shocking. I’ve thought about leaving teaching many times as it’s not working for anyone. I stay because I care, I care about the children even though the politics that surrounds them is appalling."

And another said: "“My experience has been lack of support to teachers dealing with aggression from leadership; structures in place that support teachers to violate the rights of children when dealing with violence and aggression and class sizes that too big with many children requiring specialist support and vulnerable teachers who accept the status quo and don’t ask for support."

The vast majority of teachers (89.91 per cent) indicated that more support was needed from the authority.

Joint EIS Local Association Secretary Ron Constable said: "The returns from our local survey of teachers in Aberdeen City makes for very worrying reading. Teachers are experiencing high levels of physical and verbal abuse, coupled with the additional strains of teaching during the pandemic, is placing severe stress on our members right across the city. International research has shown that teacher well-being is a pre-requisite for pupil well-being and effective teaching and learning.

"It is also evident from the comments that teachers are concerned about the level of support which in many cases they feel simply isn’t there. The vast majority of teachers feel they are seeking to manage children presenting complex needs with out the correct resources. It is also very telling that almost 50 per cent of teachers have thought about leaving teaching as a career.

"The survey results and comments send a very clear message, which must be heeded by Aberdeen City Council."

Councillor Yvonne Allan, Convener of Staff Governance at Aberdeen City Council responded: "We welcome the results of the EIS survey and appreciate being able to compare the responses from November 2021 with those gathered in 2019. The safety and wellbeing of staff and pupils in our schools is of the utmost priority for Aberdeen City Council and we note that the EIS report recognises the collaborative and co-operative approach the Council and the union have to tackle the issues following the EIS survey of 2019.  

"As the report indicates, we have worked positively together to create a new incident reporting process and a sub-committee dedicated to ensuring the safety of staff. We are pleased to see that dome areas have improved including the upward trend in the number of survey respondents who feel there is a clear strategy in place to support them in comparison with the 2019 survey.

"However, we are never complacent; we appreciate that we still have work to do. The recommendation to maintain the Supporting Learners sub-group to continue to consider how best to collaboratively support the workforce is welcomed. We look forward to continuing to work with our trade unions to help ensure that our schools staff have all the support they need to be able to undertake their valuable work." 

The EIS is the largest teacher trade union in Aberdeen City, representing over 80% of all teachers and associated professionals across nursery, primary and secondary education.

Their report is based on the views of 600 teachers and associated professionals across Aberdeen City who responded to an online survey in October 2021.