Sarwar: Increase in campus police needed as children 'feel unsafe in school, at home and on the streets'
Education will be a crucial issue in May’s election and Scottish Labour is first out of the traps with its schools policies
Scottish Labour has pledged to increase the number of campus police as children feel ‘unsafe at school, at home and on the streets’.
Anas Sarwar has vowed to tackle violence in Scotland’s classrooms, provide classroom assistants to support pupils with additional support needs (ASN) and boost apprenticeship numbers.
The party was the first to set out its education-specific pledges ahead of the Holyrood election.
Among a raft of measures is a promise of 1500 more classroom assistants for Scotland’s 2500 state schools.
Labour would also implement a wholesale ban on mobile phone use in schools.
However, Mr Sarwar acknowledged primaries and secondaries would have to be supplied with tech equipment to replace pupils’ own.
He said the Scottish government had let pupils down by including zero hours contracts in “positive leaver destinations” figures.
As a corrective, Scottish Labour will introduce 9000 more apprenticeship places to improve post-school opportunities for young people.
Mr Sarwar said: “I know the really positive relationship that the campus officer has with teachers and pupils, so they're able to nip things in the bud before they become bigger issues.
“If we're being honest with ourselves, our young people too often don't feel safe and secure in the classroom.
“They don't feel safe and secure in their communities, and they don't feel safe and secure in our streets, and sadly, in really tragic circumstances, there are far too many young people who don't even feel safe and secure in their own home.
“So we have to address that fundamental issue.”
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth recently struck a deal with teaching unions designed to reduce teacher workload.
The deal includes protected non-contact time for staff to plan lessons and other paperwork but will be phased in over the next four years.
Under Scottish Labour’s plans to reduce teacher workloads and offer more one-to-one support to pupils, local authorities across the country will get direct funding for the extra classroom assistants.
This would, Labour said, bypass existing issues with local authorities cutting teacher numbers.
At least 300 of the new intake would be located in specialist ASN schools or units so that children with the greatest needs get increased support.
The number of pupils identified as having additional support needs (ASN) in Scotland has quadrupled since 2010, however the definition is extremely broad and includes, for example, gifted pupils or pupils with additional languages.
Asked if the definition is too broad, Mr Sarwar said: “There are lots of different people that have different needs and different challenges in any individual classroom.
“But if you can imagine what's happening in that classroom, you've got not enough classroom assistants.
“A teacher is trying to teach in that classroom, and they're having to deal with all those issues at the exact same time.
“They don't feel they've got the resources they need, and they feel as if they've got a more distracted classroom at the same time.”
Mr Sarwar added that PEF money - pupil equity funds - will be “maintained permanently” to ensure additional resources in schools.
Later in the pre-election cycle, he added, his party will be setting out in detail how it would plan to promote literacy, numeracy, science and digital skills in our education.
He also said that Labour will maintain free tuition fees for school leavers going on to university.
Paul O’Kane, Scottish Labour’s education spokesman, added: “Introducing more classroom assistants will also help people upskill as well.
“The college sector is massively under-resourced and under-tapped and this will give an opportunity there.
“A classroom assistant is another trusted adult in that young person's life who can be in the classroom and set the weather.
“I think that's very important.”
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