Latest news with #NASUWT
Sky News
a day ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney defends new guidance on tackling pupil behaviour
Scotland's first minister has defended guidance issued to schools on how to deal with violent and aggressive behaviour from pupils amid criticism a stricter approach is required to "restore discipline". The Scottish government published new guidance earlier this week following calls from teachers for help to tackle the issue. In her foreword, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that exclusion should only be used as a "last resort". The guidance aims to focus on improving outcomes by "reinforcing positive behaviour and working to reduce the likelihood of negative behaviour occurring in future". It comes after a survey by the NASUWT union in March found 83% of members believed pupil violence and aggression had increased in the last year. At First Minister's Questions on Thursday, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives said violent and disruptive behaviour in schools "is getting worse". MSP Russell Findlay added: "A small minority of pupils prevent the majority from learning in peace and in safety. "Some teachers feel unsafe. Many feel unsupported. The SNP's naive and weak approach fails absolutely everyone." The Scottish government said the new guidance had been developed with input from headteachers, teaching unions, local government and educational psychologists. Mr Findlay said it was "complicated and confusing", branding it "49 pages of tedious, hand-wringing nonsense". He also criticised some of the suggested measures, including giving "violent pupils laminated bullet points, telling them to think about their behaviour", and tackling unsafe behaviour by having "a conversation to jointly problem solve with the child". Mr Findlay added: "And it also says that disruptive pupils should be allowed to leave class two minutes early, which to me sounds like a reward rather than a punishment." The MSP said his party had "long argued that a stricter approach is necessary to restore discipline in schools" as he called on the first minister to empower teachers to be able to do so. He continued: "We believe in exclusions for violence because they protect staff and pupils, and because they work." In response, John Swinney agreed that disruptive behaviour in schools was the product of a "minority of pupils". But the first minister added: "I don't think for a moment that Mr Findlay's presentation of the guidance is in any way, shape or form representative of what is actually there." Mr Swinney argued the guidance had been designed to de-escalate and resolve situations to ensure the youngsters are well supported to "fulfil their potential". He explained: "Because if young people are unable to participate in their education, they are unlikely to go into good outcomes in our society, and we will simply repeat the difficulties that we've seen for many years of young people who do not go on to positive destinations." Mr Swinney said there had been 11,676 exclusions in 2022/23. Although lower than what was recorded in 2018/19, the first minister said "it is still a very high level of exclusion of young people from our schools". Mr Swinney pointed to a summit he recently hosted in an attempt to curb school violence, where he said none of the attendees pushed for increased exclusions. He said: "So, what we are getting from Russell Findlay today is a demonisation of young people and a failure to address the mechanisms and the interventions required to solve a difficult issue in our society." Mr Findlay - a former crime journalist - has repeatedly criticised the SNP's "soft touch justice regime" and in recent months raised the issue of organised crime gangs "grooming" vulnerable youngsters as they face a "reduced risk" of being jailed due to the nation's sentencing guidelines for under-25s. Mr Swinney said exclusions can have "negative consequences", explaining: "If a young person is excluded from school, they are not in the safe environment of school. "They are therefore likely to be out on the streets and therefore potentially able to become involved in some of the criminal activity that Mr Findlay himself has put to me within the last fortnight at First Minister's Questions as being a risk to which young people are exposed."
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Teacher survey reveals alarming level of drug use on school grounds
A survey by the NASUWT teachers' union found that teachers are aware of pupils using substances, including cannabis, spice, cocaine, ketamine, alcohol, nitrous oxide and nicotine pouches, on school premises. Nearly one in 10 teachers expressed concern about pupils smoking the synthetic cannabinoid known as spice at school, while close to one in five were aware of cannabis use. The union warned that the use of drugs, alcohol, and access to gambling apps are contributing to a rise in disruptive, violent, and abusive behaviour among pupils. The NASUWT is calling for greater government action, including a partnership approach involving schools, health, and police, and ensuring every school has access to a school-based counsellor. Additional concerns highlighted by the union include excessive energy drink consumption and an increase in vaping among pupils, urging a ban on high-caffeine drinks for under-16s.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Pupils taking cocaine, ketamine and spice at school, teachers warn
Teachers are aware of pupils using drugs such as cocaine, ketamine and spice, including on school premises, a new survey has found. Alcohol, nicotine pouches and nitrous oxide are also all being consumed within schools by pupils, according to the survey of 4,000 teachers – with access to gambling apps and websites also a problem in some schools. This use of drugs, alcohol and gambling apps is contributing to a rise in disruptive, violent and abusive behaviour in schools, warned the NASUWT teachers' union, which carried out the survey – while urging greater government action to help tackle the issue. Nearly one in five teachers are aware of pupils smoking cannabis on school grounds, the survey found, rising to 57 per cent outside of school. Close to one in 10 teachers – mostly working in schools, post-16 and further education settings – were concerned about pupils smoking the synthetic cannabinoid spice while on the premises, rising to 24 per cent outside of school. And the survey found 5 per cent were aware of pupils using 'other drugs' – most commonly cocaine and ketamine – on school grounds, with 16 per cent of teachers expressing concerns about their students doing so outside of school. Twenty-four per cent were concerned about their students using gambling apps, including 6 per cent while at school. 'Not only are many of these activities illegal or prohibited for young people aged under 18, they are contributing to the rise we are seeing in disruptive, violent and abusive behaviour in schools,' said Matt Wrack, acting chief of the NASUWT. 'NASUWT teachers tell us that along with increased tiredness and lack of focus and interest in learning, they are causing irritability, mood swings and erratic behaviour among the pupils they teach. 'This is clearly not an issue that schools can solve alone, we need greater action from government and other expert services to help deter young people from using or accessing illegal or prohibited substances or activities and causing harm to themselves or others.' The union is calling for partnership approaches to be established, involving schools, health, police, youth justice services and other stakeholders, to help tackle the use of harmful substances and activities by young people. It is also urging ministers to commit to ensuring every school across England has access to a school-based counsellor, while conducting further research into how children are being introduced and drawn to online gambling. And with 71 per cent of teachers expressing concern about children excessively consuming energy drinks, the union is also calling for the government to implement its plans to ban the sale of drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to under-16s. The union also found that more than half of teachers observed an increase in vaping among pupils over the past year, amid concerns that a ban on disposable vapes that came into force this month could push more young people to use unregulated and potentially dangerous products. Research at the University of Bath last year also found that children may be unwittingly smoking vapes spiked with spice, with 16.6 per cent of nearly 600 vapes confiscated in 38 schools across England being found to contain the synthetic drug.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Teachers reveal shocking extent of drug use in school and say kids at PRIMARY are high on cannabis
One in five teachers say their pupils use cannabis at school including some who are still primary-aged, a poll has found. A survey of almost 4,000 teachers found many pupils are abusing drugs and alcohol on school grounds – with ketamine and cocaine also rife. The NASUWT union, which conducted the study, said substance abuse is contributing to 'violent and abusive' behaviour in class. It called on the Government to take more action to stop pupils accessing drugs as schools 'cannot solve it alone'. The poll found 19 per cent of teachers said their pupils used cannabis within school, and 9 per cent said pupils used spice. Meanwhile, 13 per cent were aware of pupils using nicotine pouches or snus in school, 7 per cent said the same of alcohol, and 5 per cent said it of other drugs. The most commonly-cited drugs aside from cannabis were ketamine and cocaine. The poll also found 4 per cent said pupils had used nitrous oxide – or laughing gas – in school. The respondents were all secondary teachers aside from a very small handful of those in primary schools. However, five primary teachers said they were aware of pupils using cannabis in school and one primary respondent said pupils drank alcohol in school. One teacher said: 'They tend to present as disengaged from school once they become habitual or heavy users of cannabis or alcohol.' Another said of drug-taking pupils: 'They are not focusing in class; they are usually very tired and will often sleep in the lesson if not noticed.' A third said: 'They become volatile and disconnected and are hard to engage or refuse to take ownership of their studies.' Matt Wrack, NASUWT Acting General Secretary, said: 'Not only are many of these activities illegal or prohibited for young people aged under 18, they are contributing to the rise we are seeing in disruptive, violent and abusive behaviour in schools. 'NASUWT teachers tell us that along with increased tiredness and lack of focus and interest in learning, they are causing irritability, mood swings and erratic behaviour among the pupils they teach. 'This is clearly not an issue that schools can solve alone, we need greater action from government and other expert services to help deter young people from using or accessing illegal or prohibited substances.' The survey also showed energy drinks which send pupils 'hyper' are becoming a problem, with 71 per cent of teachers saying these were consumed in school. Meanwhile, 6 per cent said they knew pupils used gambling websites at their school. A respondent said: 'The gambling issue seems to fly under the radar a lot but it's a very real concern, especially for the post-16 students. 'Some are not sleeping and instead gambling all night and come into school half asleep.' The NASUWT is calling for partnerships with health, police and youth justice services to solve the problem, and for every school to have a counsellor. The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
North Yorkshire teachers criticise trust move to extend school day
Teachers at a chain of schools have walked out again in opposition to plans to make the school day longer. Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) said the move to extend the day by 30 minutes would bring its 28 sites in line with government the National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT warned the move would add further pressure on teacher workload and impact recruitment. "No-one here wants to be doing this - we'd all rather be in the class with the kids doing what we've spent so much of our time training to do, and something we're so passionate about," said science teacher Tom Fisher. Centrally-planned lessons covering "life skills" including financial literacy and careers education would take place during an extended morning registration period, OGAT the unions warned their members would still need additional time to prepare."They keep saying they'll give us resources we can just pick up and use, but no teacher does that," said Mr Fisher, who teaches at Outwood Academy Easingwold, North Yorkshire."It sucks that it has come to this." As well as in North Yorkshire, walk-outs have been taking place at Outwood Academy sites across the north of schools currently finish at 14:30 BST, with the trust proposing a later finish to comply with the Department for Education's 32.5-hour week policy."Our members and all staff are already under extreme pressure with workload," said Gary McVeigh-Kaye, of the North Yorkshire branch secretary said the proposal would "add to the recruitment and retention crisis that we've got in education anyway".Under the original proposals, a full-time teacher with a form group allocated to them would be working "two hours or more extra a week with no increase in pay and no real increase in planning and preparation time", according to Toepritz, national executive member for the union, said the trust had since said teachers could use one form-time period a fortnight for planning, but at some schools that would be "in a block at the end of the year, which is no use".The earlier finish time at Outwood Academy Easingwold "worked" for pupils and parents, as well as bus operators, he added. English teacher Jess Hesketh said a key issue was the "one size fits all approach to a really broad and diverse family of schools".Outwood Academy Easingwold's rural location made it "rare within the trust", she said."In terms of transport and the demographic of our students and our staff, it faces different challenges." Alice Cokeham, who also teaches English, said that while teachers were striking during exam season, pupils had been taught the necessary material ahead of the industrial added that pupils would not benefit from an extended school day without more time to socialise."We currently have a 15 minute break in the morning and a 30 minute break for lunch," she explained."In that lunchtime break of 30 minutes, students have to go to the toilet, queue for food, eat their food and also have a bit of fun with their friends."NASUWT representative and science teacher Jeremy Tomlin said: "We already see students are exhausted at the end of the five period day."We think it's going to have a long term impact on student welfare, student health, and also on the retention of teachers."He called for the academy trust to carry out a "proper" consultation with individual schools. 'Constructive dialogue' A spokesperson for OGAT said the trust had "constructively engaged" with staff and trade unions since October, with changes made during a "genuine consultation".The "small" proposed change would bring the school day length "within the government's recommended bracket", they said strikes would "disrupt children's education, especially as the days the unions have chosen for the strikes are all when students are taking GCSEs, exams they have worked so hard for"."We remain open to constructive dialogue and collaborative working, but we must prioritise our students so they get the best possible education." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
