A TEACHING union has said there is much work to be done to eradicate violence from Renfrewshire schools.

Kenny Fella, EIS local association secretary for Renfrewshire, spoke out as The Gazette reveals the number of attacks on teachers by primary school pupils has more than quadrupled in the past four years.

There were 29 attacks in the area’s primary schools in 2014 but, this year, that total has rocketed to more than 130.

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And the situation in secondary schools is also a concern, with the number of incidents more than trebling in that time – from 12 attacks in 2014 to 39 in 2018.

The secondary school to experience the largest number of attacks on teachers during the past four years is Park Mains High, in Erskine.

The shocking figures have come to light after a Freedom of Information request from The Gazette to Renfrewshire Council, which said it would encourage staff to report any incidents where they feel they have been subjected to aggressive behaviour.

The council also highlighted that the attacks include verbal and written abuse, as well as physical violence.

Mr Fella believes austerity-fuelled policies from the UK Government are largely to blame for a rise in young people’s violent behaviour.

He said: “Children have become the victims of austerity, with welfare benefits being cut and families regularly using foodbanks.

“Sadly, this manifests itself in unfortunate behaviours.

“Schools across Renfrewshire do have a zero tolerance policy for teachers being assaulted.

We have now also put together – EIS and Renfrewshire Council – a customised programme for education establishments.

“We cannot cut it out completely but we must try to prevent it, so this programme needs to be implemented by headteachers.”

The programme, called Managing Violence and Aggression in Education Establishments, has been in place since August.

It instructs schools to deal with violence as soon as it happens and work out what needs to be done – with the pupil and in the classroom – to prevent further incidents.

Mr Fella said there also needs to be changes in national policy.

He added: “It is very worrying that violence is actually going away from where we expect it to come from, such as teenagers, and moving down to the primary school level.

“I think we need to look at the bigger educational picture as well. There are now about 33 pupils in each class. We need to reduce class sizes.

“We also need to see efforts to try to alleviate poverty.”

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A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said it prides itself on providing a safe and secure school environment.

He added: “We encourage any staff who feel they have been subject to violent or aggressive behaviour to report this, with clear reporting mechanisms in place and all incidents thoroughly investigated.

“There are more than 20,000 children across our primary and secondary schools and this data relates to any violent or aggressive behaviour reported by a school staff member, including verbal or written abuse and aggressive gestures.”