DAMNING new stats have shown that the Scottish government has failed to deal with violence in schools, a teaching union said today.

NASUWT’s Scottish organiser Mike Corbett made the comments after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its latest education data.

The report noted that 35.8 per cent of Scottish pupils surveyed had seen someone get hurt at school, and 35.7 per cent had witnessed threats between learners.

This compares with the 17 and 20.2 per cent averages respectively across the OECD’s 81 member countries.

The SNP’s Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has already undertaken a series of summits on the matter, and committed £900,000 for staff training, in response to growing concerns.

But NASUWT Scotland’s national official Mike Corbett told the Star: “Teachers in Scotland tell us that levels of violence and abuse are rising in schools, with threats and attacks affecting both staff and students.

“Our members often say that the impact on pupils witnessing violence in the classroom is under-recognised.

“Schools should be a place of safety for everyone that works and learns in them, but to date the Scottish government has failed to come forward with sufficient measures to address the problem.

“We need to see coherence and consistency of national messaging around behaviour and for the cabinet secretary to prioritise building her ‘plan’ to tackle pupil behaviour following on from the recent national summits, in partnership with teachers and unions.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “Ms Gilruth held productive talks last week with trade unions and will continue to engage with them, Cosla, parents and carers to ensure we improve behaviour.”