TEACHERS in Helensburgh and Lomond have been praised for their work to manage challenging behaviour in the area’s schools.
A councillor voiced concern about the safety of pupils and staff in the event of incidents taking place which could result in classrooms being evacuated.
But an Argyll and Bute Council official said that the authority has “the best people doing their very best” to ensure the rights of every pupil are respected.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee on Tuesday, March 10.
Councillor Maurice Corry (Conservative, Lomond North) said: “Something that really concerns me is behaviour, and my concern is not only the protection of pupils, but staff.
“I understand this is Scottish Government policy, but what worries me is that you get one pupil misbehaving and the rest of them get moved out.
“The impact will vary depending on the child concerned, but when it comes to physical behaviour where a teacher is bitten or a child throws a chair or a book, we cannot pussyfoot around with this. How can we resolve this?”
Simon Easton, the authority’s education manager of Helensburgh and Lomond, responded: “What we are dealing with is a societal problem. Education sometimes has the expectation that it will solve this, but it has to meet the needs and respect the rights of all.
“It is easy to adopt the approach of ‘let’s get these children out, I do not want them upsetting my children’, but how do you meet the rights of all children?
“We have dedicated, compassionate and motivated practitioners from top to bottom in schools, who will not rest until they feel they are getting the best for each child.
“I know it is not a magic wand, but here in Helensburgh and Lomond we have the best people doing their very best.”
