Ending Violence in Scottish Schools

As an amendment to motion S6M-09126 in the name of Stephen Kerr (Ending Violence in Scottish Schools), insert at end "; notes Scottish Liberal Democrats research, which uncovered that, in 2021-22, there were nearly 15,000 instances of violence recorded, with 10,852 of these being in primary schools, the highest figures for five years; further notes that, in 2022-23, there have already been over 12,000 violent instances recorded in schools; considers that the Scottish Government has been too slow in undertaking action on this matter; believes that this shows there has been a conspiracy of silence and under-reporting among the Scottish political and education leadership on this matter; acknowledges the ongoing work carried out by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, but is concerned, however, that the findings of any survey on behaviour will not be available until the autumn; believes that, while restorative approaches are undoubtedly more effective at tackling the root cause of violent behaviour than simply punishing the symptoms, this requires resourcing, and calls on the Scottish Government to invest properly in core education provision, as well as ensuring that there is more specialist provision such as classroom assistants, educational psychologists and specialist teachers."