in classrooms across Scotland, according to a survey of nearly 500 ‘union members’ seen by the BBC.
By Professor John Robertson OBA, former teacher, education lecturer, Associate Dean for Quality Assurance and Research Ethics Chair, UWS
BBC Reporting Scotland Down are off with a top story to give the elderly and vulnerable, maybe more of us, a dose of their ‘Too anxious to ever vote for real change‘ drug (take 7 times a day). They have scary prisoner release next as a back-up to get your worries up.
There are 54 000 teachers in Scotland so that’s a self-selecting, ‘squeaky wheel’ survey of less than 1% (0.9) of all teachers. The survey is by the NASUWT. ‘Who?’ say most teachers.
This is a recurring theme on BBC Scotland with surveys ‘seen’ (fed to) them, based on tiny samples not properly constructed.
Last month we had:
School violence in Scotland – fact check
Such was the level of violence in Scottish schools last April that the same two boys had to travel the country, from Wales to Scotland, to represent it visually. Kind of makes you wonder why, in the age of mobile phone cameras of awesome quality, why BBC Scotland and Wales only have the same Getty image of two lads play wrestling.
Some facts, you won’t be hearing much today.
School violence: A classic example of seeking to stoke moral panic
All forms of bullying in decline and students feel safer than in other nations
Youth violence plummets across society yet increases in schools?
More than FOUR times as many “fleeing rising classroom violence and falling standards in England’s schools”
Finally, if pupil violence is really surging wouldn’t more than one teacher complain?
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brow
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The Guardian also picked up on this “to be published” survey (https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/feb/06/scotland-schools-pupil-violence-increase). If you look at the NASUWT’s 2024 “Big Question” survey they apply unspecified “weightings” to the small number who actually chose to respond. They also fail to identify what the national split was, so its impossible to see any “Scotland” specific data. If you look at the pupil violence-related questions the level of teacher concern is vastly less than they’ve pre-quoted now. Also, interestingly, if you look at the NASUWT’s Annual Report (https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/static/7b072dee-6b9a-40d6-9e867cfba4c49ea0/Scotland-Annual-Conference-2023-Annual-Report-202223.pdf) pupil violence is by no means top of the list of priorities it identifies.
This is biassed data presented to promote the NASUWT and demonstrate to its members that it’s “doing something”, picked up by UK media who just want an anti-SNP story.
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What’s good news for Scotland is very bad news for the BritNats at Holyrood and their masters in England, the BritNat propaganda HQ’s must be very busy, and costly.
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