Following an attempt shoplifting incident in Morningside yesterday (Thursday 25 April) police officers traced a 12-year-old boy who has now been charged with making threats of violence towards staff.
Community Sergeant Jen Macgregor said: ‘Behaving and acting in a threatening and abusive way will not be tolerated by our communities.
“Our officers continue to deal with any reports robustly and work tirelessly with families, schools and partners to deter such incidents.
“Please check in with your kids when they’re out and about to ensure they are safe and not involved in anti-social-behaviour or criminality.’
A dramatic increase in the number of violent and threatening incidents in Edinburgh’s schools has been revealed by figures from the city council.
In the 2014-15 academic year, there were 111 violent or threatening behaviour incidents across Edinburgh’s primaries and secondary schools. In the 2022-23 academic year this had skyrocketed to 618.
These figures come after the Scottish Government’s latest Research Report into school behaviour showed that almost 2/3rds of Scottish teachers have experienced verbal abuse and 59% have encountered physical aggression.
The number of incidents is higher in Edinburgh’s primary schools, which saw a leap from 242 for the academic year 2021/22 to 487 in 22/23.
High schools have seen a similarly dramatic jump but from a lower base, seeing an increase from 44 incidents in 21/22 to 131 in 22/23.
Commenting on these figures, Lothians MSP Sarah Boyack said: “The dramatic increase in violent and threatening behaviour in schools is extremely distressing.
“No teacher deserves to face violence or abuse in their classroom.
“The Council and school staff are doing a great job with the resources they have, but its clear more is needed to tackle this issue.
“Investing in pupil support will help us to tackle many of the root issues that cause disruption. We must also ensure that schools equip teachers with the necessary support if they are facing violent behaviour.
“Violence and threatening behaviour are not part of a teacher’s job, and it must be the Education Secretary’s top priority to tackle it.”
The data, acquired by FOI from City of Edinburgh Council is below:
Academic Year
Primary Schools
Secondary Schools
Total number
01/08/2014 to 30/06/2015
104
7
111
01/08/2015 to 30/06/2016
112
7
119
01/08/2016 to 30/06/2017
199
7
206
01/08/2017 to 30/06/2018
178
15
193
01/08/2018 to 30/06/2019
292
37
329
01/08/2019 to 30/06/2020
17
24
41
01/08/2020 to 30/06/2021
129
4
133
01/08/2021 to 30/06/2022
242
44
286
01/08/2022 to 30/06/2023
487
131
618
The Scottish Government Behaviour in Schools Research Report can be found here: