V+A paper JNC June 2026

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Agenda Item ..........
Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers
To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers
On: June 9th 2026
Report by
Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side)
Violence and Aggression Policy improvements needed
1. Background
An important element of the Renfrewshire Managing Violence and Aggression policy
in Educational establishments is the reporting procedures and the support
mechanisms designed to minimise the occurrence of violent incidents against
teachers within our schools.
In a profession where the employees are predominantly female the Teachers’ Side is
seeking to include misogyny, harassment and gender-based violence in the reporting
system so that such incidents may be recorded and the appropriate safeguards put in
place to support anyone subjected to this.
National media reports in the last few weeks have once again highlighted that violent
incidents continue to blight education with over 33,000 incidents recorded.  It has
been further suggested that the already record-high numbers may be significantly
under-reported and so the reality may be even more worrying than the figures
suggest.  This may be in part because there is no protected time being made
available following violent incidents and within the working day to enable the data to
be uploaded. 
The Teachers’ Side is therefore seeking to build on the significant work that has
already been done to ensure that Renfrewshire teachers can be supported, by
allocating protected time after an incident to ensure that teachers can comply with
their obligation to record incidents.  Furthermore that time is allowed, where needed,
for teachers to decompress before being expected to resume teaching classes. 
2. Recommendations
That the Managing Violence and Aggression in Education Establishments policy is
amended through enhanced reporting and support mechanisms including:
 protected time with cover made available  within the working day to allow for the
recording of incidents and to ensure accurate measurement of violence and
aggression.
 mandatory post-incident check-ins with management to assess the health and
wellbeing and to agree appropriate supports for the teacher impacted.
 recognition of misogynistic abuse and gender-based violence as a health and safety
issue with consistent application of risk assessments and follow-up procedures.