By Professor John Robertson
In the Guardian today:
Only two in five children in England say they always feel safe at school, according to a government survey, and teachers from across Britain have told the Guardian they have seen pupils’ behaviour deteriorate over the last two years.
So first, see that ‘in England?’
Today, the Herald, the Glasgow Times and even the National completely drop it from their headlines so as to clearly imply Scotland too is part of this crisis.
The facts on Scotland below but briefly, near the bottom of the report, the Guardian has:
A secondary school teacher from Scotland said she had seen extreme behaviour among a few students slowly becoming the norm.
Really? That’s what you’ve got for the ‘across Britain’ claim?
The Facts on Scotland:
Looking at the above data, it is clear that all forms of bullying are decline from the 2018 level and that Scottish students feel significantly safer than in other nations, on average.
England?
Violence fears make children miss school [in England], youth survey suggests
Results from the survey of over 7,500 children [in England] indicate 16% of children aged 13-17 have been a victim of violence. The children’s commissioner [for England] said knife crime and violence was the “number one issue” raised with her by young people.
and:
Hundreds of children thrown out of school in English county lines hotspots
I know, that survey on Scotland’s schools was in 2022 – violence has exploded across Scotland’s schools in one year? Hmmm.
Oh, Wales? Well, maybe come back to them after that attempted stabbing news fades?
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
“”A” secondary school teacher says ….” A condemnatory article based on a vox pop from ONE person!!!!
In my long experience some teachers are a disgrace to the profession with their scathing generalisations largely based on their own class and social prejudices.
I worked in schools for 39 years in 7 different schools. In that time there were four verified instances of violence of pupils towards teachers. In each case, the young person acted because she or he felt that the teacher was going to strike her or him.
I am well aware that in dealing with young people emotions can run high for a variety of reasons and teachers are human and can find their emotions at times getting the better of them. Fortunately, in almost every case things do not reach physical violence. Sometimes restraint – as often as not applied by fellow pupils on the emotional child – is necessary, but not too often.
The situation in Wales this week where three people received stab wounds is a very rare occurrence. We do not know why the girl involved acted as she did, but, it is clear that two teachers acted very bravely and one restrained the girl and, probably, prevented more serious injury.
Alasdair Macdonald
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O/T
I see we are witnessing a feeding frenzy via MSM & rogue news channels just now…..and too the opposition parties in (and out of) Scotland.
Same ones that lack any appetite to also widely cover and promote anything that the SNP, as Scottish government , implement regarding good initiatives/policies via them to offset the Tory cost of living crisis…. such as the weekly Scottish Child payment…..not , as an example, a solitary one either……as this very blog has shown via various excellent articles to substantiate this claim by me……
They’ll be bringing on Uri Geller next …….asking the nation (not the Scottish one)….to all unite and concentrate on wishing the Scottish government aka the SNP were exterminated….
Maybe the BBC could lend their Daleks to help with this….job.
If ever there was an instance when sheer political opportunism and too a media showing such flagrant bias and uncontained relish to affirm their true (pro Union) colours now is one of those moments….
Aliens could land on earth today…..and still some of them, who have appointed themselves as justice warriors against the SNP, would continue their current public onslaught and hypocrisy…..it must be so so difficult to live in a self built political Ivory tower , as the UK media and a Pro UK political parties seem to want us all to believe, is the case with them…….where apparently they have no personal baggage connected to any of them it seems…..also apparently their morals and virtues are it seems beyond reproach………….and as far as their output as a media is concerned and too the behaviour of various pro UK political parties……….. well we are all expected in Scotland to just ignore all negatives connected with either of them as a pro UK media and as pro UK politicians…… as they all inhabit their UKnotOkay one nation also known as England …..LOL
The truth is that they themselves, media and opposition parties, are in absolutely no position to judge, condemn or dictate anything to the SNP…..or indeed anyone……however as they are the dominant force within the UK that is where the SNP and Scotland finds itself …..in the past, now in the present and unless we vote for independence that will also be our future……indeed the only fiascos generated within Scotland are those instigated and promoted from both the media and also Pro UK political parties……I for one cannot vote for that now or in the future…..as it seems, that to do so , would be an act that was a tad self destructive for both me and mine….and my country too.
Meanwhile…..I believe a wee bit of meditation can ease some of the burden of those of us suffering in Scotland as a UK citizen…..I feel an OM mantra coming on….
That’s meditation not medication….though really tis enough to drive you to drink all of this faux indignation and outrage…..also known as ‘Playing politics’…..a firm favourite of the media and opposition parties in Scotland I believe….or rather I know it is……as just look at them all now tis both sickening to witness yet simultanously sadly pathetic…..time for Karma to visit surely……
NMRN
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Both of my sons’ bad experiences at primary and one at High school in Edinburgh were due to teachers and a guidance teacher’s prejudice, neglect and lack of care etc. One primary school teacher tore up my son’s artwork in front of the class, he has learning difficulties, then he was bullied by far too many kids in High school, but worse was the lack of care and support by teachers, special needs teachers, head teacher and the guidance teacher who I witnessed telling my son he should ‘find another school to attend’ during a staff and parent meeting to discuss, as usual what support they were NOT going to offer him, (‘no money’) the guidance ‘teacher’ lost his job, or so I hoped. Meanwhile Labour UK/Eng party in Scotland sent £1.5Billion back to WM saying ‘nothing to sepnd it on in Scotland’. You can see why I absolutely abohor Labour with every bone in my body…they neglected children from primary school age and that is unforgivable. That’s what I would like the SNP to point out, Labour’s (England’s HQ’d party) disgraceful neglect in even attempting to improve social, educational, special needs services and support, nor did they attempt to improve housing for the people of Scotland. What DID they do with Scotland’s money back then? Even outwith the billions they sent back to Westminster and wasted on trams and PFI scams. I’d love to know.
Ps. Has Scotland adopted the English system, of ‘secondary’ schools? I thought we had High schools. ‘Secondary’ schools are an English name for state schools where (often substandard) education was/is for the plebs’ kids, those who did not pass the tests to make it to ‘grammar school’, where they’d be sure to be going into white collar work. ‘Secondary’ ‘education’ was for those going into the local factories, shopwork or down the mines, or if you didn’t fancy that, leave the country for a much better standard of living, like my siblings who escaped to Australia.
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Excuse the typos I was ‘educated’ at a ‘secondary’ school in England.
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Hello ArtyHetty, I attended schools in Edinburgh in the 1960’s and in those days, many Local Authority post- Primary schools were generally called Secondary as was mine. Sometimes they would be split into Junior and Senior Secondaries as there was a system of selection. There was a lot of ‘streaming’ in those days. Others were titled Academy or High. So it varied all over the city.
I’m proud to say that my Senior Secondary School in Edinburgh (1958-63) produced a Nobel Prize winner a few years ago. It seems he was a year above me way back then.
J&J
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