To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to address violence in schools. (S6O-04755)

As I outlined in my previous answer, we are currently implementing our relationships and behaviour national action plan in conjunction with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The plan contains a number of different actions around reducing violence and harm in schools.

In addition, since the publication of the violence prevention framework in 2023, we have provided more than £6 million to organisations, including the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and YouthLink Scotland for its No Knives, Better Lives programme, to deliver a range of prevention and early intervention activity, which includes specific work in our schools.

In the coming weeks, we will publish new guidance for schools on consequences and on risk assessments for violent, aggressive or dangerous behaviour.

In a survey conducted among teachers by the NASUWT trade union, eight in 10 respondents said that they had been threatened with a weapon by a pupil in the previous 12 months, and 37 per cent said that they had been assaulted with a weapon. The cabinet secretary has said that the Government is working on guidance. Does she think that the action plan is working? What role does she believe that the police should have in addressing the issue? We are often told that schools are discouraged from contacting the police, even in serious cases.

I thank Katy Clark for raising an important issue. Her question covers a similar theme to that of Roz McCall’s question on the impact of the national action plan, which was launched in August. What I said in response to Ms McCall will also apply to Katy Clark’s question. It is important that we engage on a cross-party basis on that point.

Katy Clark also highlighted the point that Mr Ross made about the connection between justice and education. A number of our schools in Scotland have campus police officers. There is, quite rightly, a connection between justice and education—I often invited the police into my classroom to speak to my pupils about the role of law and order in society. I am more than happy to take away Katy Clark’s points.

On the action plan, as I said in response to the previous question, further advice will be published in relation to consequences and on violent and aggressive behaviour.

There are a couple of supplementary questions, which will need to be brief.

Violence has no place in Scotland’s schools. I welcome the £2 million additional investment from the Scottish Government to address youth violence and the carrying of weapons in and around schools. It is clear that we continue to see challenges in relation to misogynistic behaviour and gender-based violence in wider society.

Will the cabinet secretary comment further on the Government’s work on the issue and on how the Scottish budget delivers on the priorities of the equally safe strategy?

We are fully committed to eradicating violence against women and girls. This year, we are investing £21.6 million in the delivering equally safe fund, supporting 115 projects from 107 organisations that focus on early intervention and prevention, as well as support services.

As part of that investment, we are funding and supporting programmes to address gender-based violence and sexual harassment in our schools. That includes £1.89 million over four years to Rape Crisis Scotland to support the implementation of equally safe at school and the continued delivery of the national sexual violence prevention programme. In the past 10 years, the national sexual violence prevention programme has reached more than 135,000 young people.

A freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives has revealed that teachers in Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire have requested self-defence classes. It is totally unacceptable that we are living in a country where our teachers are asking for self-defence classes.

What is being done by the Government? What will be done by management to ensure that, if a teacher requests that a pupil is not in the classroom, they will not be brought back into the classroom?

I am sympathetic to the member’s points. He is alluding to management in schools. We need to be mindful of the position of local government as the employer and the position of the Scottish Government. I am happy to take the issue that he has raised to the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland.

I know that having support from the management team in school is fundamental to supporting a classroom teacher in responding to challenging behaviour. The member raises an important issue, and I will address it accordingly with ADES.