By Tony O’Reilly-
Teachers at a Glasgow school are striking for the rest of the week over the alleged violent and abusive behaviour of students. Staff at Bannerman High in Baillieston are staging a walk out on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, with an additional eight days of strikes to take place in December.
The news comes after research today revealed that 75% of staff in the Uk suffer from stress and depression.
The NASUWT teachers’ union claim educators have been ‘shoved and threatened’ and someone ‘brandished’ a screwdriver on the premises. Violence by pupils towards teachers in Scotland or other parts of the Uk is not common, but also not rare. It calls for assertive action to address the intolerable state of affairs.
The school has accused Glasgow city council of failing to take the steps needed to “restore safety” at Bannerman High School and had told staff that anyone who refused to teach the child would be punished.
The union has been in negotiations with Glasgow City Council to address the issue and said it has made “some progress” in coming up with suitable safeguards.
The organisation claims council bosses are still ‘punishing’ staff by threatening to send them home without pay if they refuse to continue teaching in a classroom where they face ‘verbal and physical abuse’ from pupils.
The school’s Ofsted report in 2018 stated that the majority of children come to school with skills that are below those typical for their age, adding that pupils do not make good enough progress by the end of
Year 6, particularly in reading
The school was rated poorly by the education watchdog in all key areas, including effectiveness of leadership and management, Quality of teaching, learning and assessment, Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement and outcomes for pupils. Ofsted said the school required improvement in all of the above areas.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council previously said the union’s position was an “inaccurate” reflection of the support from the council and senior management at the school.
A statement from the council read: “It is deeply upsetting that the school is once again being dragged through the media.
“The safety of our staff is taken very seriously and additional measures have been in place at the school to meet the needs of the teachers and support staff in the ASL base and the refusal to teach by some members can only be seen as victimisation of young people with significant needs.
“The school has a ratio of one teacher to every three pupils in the base as well as pupil support workers with individual support plans for young people.
“We do not recognise the characterisation of the council’s behaviour as bullying nor have we threatened any member of staff.
“Our legal view was made clear to the NASUWT that refusal to teach an individual young person would be considered breach of contract and have consistently engaged with the union and will continue to do so.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT national official Scotland, said: “Whilst the council has acknowledged that there are safety issues at the school and have told us they are seeking to address those, they seem intent on punishing our members for refusing to accept verbal and physical abuse.
“In the interests of all staff and pupils at Bannerman the council needs to focus on working with us to create a safe environment in which teachers feel supported and safe to work.”
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “We remain committed to further negotiations with Glasgow City Council to seek to resolve this dispute. A resolution is being made more difficult to reach by continued threats from the council to dock the pay of our members who are taking action to ensure their safety at work.
“Rather than seeking to punish teachers for standing up for their basic right to a safe workplace, Glasgow City Council should be removing obstacles to resolution of this dispute and demonstrate that they are serious about fulfilling their duty of care to staff.”
However, a spokesperson for Glasgow City Council previously said the union’s claims were an “inaccurate” and denied that actions taken by the council and senior management at the school could be perceived as ‘bullying’.
A statement from the council read: “It is deeply upsetting that the school is once again being dragged through the media. The safety of our staff is taken very seriously and additional measures have been in place at the school to meet the needs of the teachers and support staff in the ASL base and the refusal to teach by some members can only be seen as victimisation of young people with significant needs.
“The school has a ratio of one teacher to every three pupils in the base as well as pupil support workers with individual support plans for young people. We do not recognise the characterisation of the council’s behaviour as bullying nor have we threatened any member of staff.