School violence is putting education worker's safety on the line

Our campaigning has revealed that rising tensions in classes and playgrounds have been fuelled by the use of mobile phones.

The Daily Record has been highlighting the scourge of violence in schools for almost two years.

It comes, therefore, as no shock that the GMB Union has found huge levels of abuse, threats and assaults on its members in places of education.

Our campaigning has revealed that rising tensions in classes and playgrounds have been fuelled by the use of mobile phones.

And the lack of consequences in many cases has left victims fearful and frustrated, not knowing who to turn to for help.

That Ayrshire alone had 3200 incidents in a year is appalling.

But we know this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg, as the attacks are now so commonplace that many are not being reported.

Staff in many cases may feel that there’s no point.

The Scottish Government has made grand statements about turning the situation around but they have been accused of running a “talking shop” instead of taking the bull by the horns.

The GMB’s initiative, involving the early reporting and collating of all incidents, is something staff should support.

Each and every detail should be represented in the statistics. Dysfunctional, violent schools should never be a reality that can be tolerated by the very people working there.

But it is down to the Scottish Government to address this problem as a priority. It’s the future of our children and the safety of hard-working staff that is on the line

It’s just not fare

ScotRail admits it’s been a difficult few months for passengers.

Peak time fares have returned and fewer services have been running while pay negotiations with drivers rumbled on.

The operators have announced a full timetable will resume from Monday.

That’s welcome news but questions about fare prices and the regularity of services remain.

The cost of a peak time return ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh – a route most Scots will use at some point – is eye-watering.

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The Scottish Government previously claimed it needed a 10 per cent increase in passengers to justify scrapping peak time fares permanently.

It pulled the plug on the scheme after a seven per cent rise – a move that looks shortsighted in the extreme. It’s in everyone’s interests for ScotRail to be affordable and reliable.

Expensive tickets and uncertainty over running times won’t encourage drivers off the roads.

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