The issue of increasingly violent pupils dominated much of this morning’s session at the EIS conference in Dundee’s Caird Hall.

Against a background of rocketing attacks, despite “massive under-reporting” of such incidents, repeated calls were made for teachers to be able to go about their work without fear of assault.

Some estimates show an increase in assaults by pupils on teachers over the last year of 20%. These concern reported incidents only with no figures available on the actual number of incidents.

Larry Flanagan, of the union’s Glasgow branch, told delegates that thousands of attacks were being made on teachers every year across Scotland and they were now in real need of protection. South Lanarkshire teacher Linzi Moore movingly described how violence in school had affected her entire life. She said it had shattered her confidence, reduced her to tears and reached a stage where she could not face going to work.

She said, “There must be effective sanctions against people committing these incidents.”

EIS executive council member Willie Hart said education authorities had to face up to the problem and not just sweep it under the carpet.

He added, “There is no more fundamental right when teachers go to work than to expect their personal security and well-being to be protected.”

Angus teacher Arthur Pritchard questioned whether violent pupils should even be allowed to stay in full-time education.

There was, he said, no legal obligation to provide full-time schooling and part-time education for violent pupils should be considered.

Mr Flanagan’s motion calling for a new strategy and more effective sanctions to deal with violent pupils, with alternatives to mainstream schooling where appropriate, was unanimously carried.

Meanwhile, Labour’s plans for more partially-selective schools should be strongly resisted in Scotland, said the union’s general secretary Ronnie Smith in his address to the conference.

Some so-called “city academies” have already been launched in England by Labour in an attempt to tackle under-achievement in urban secondary schools.

These are run by a partnership of Government and sponsors from the business, church or voluntary sectors and are actively championed by the Prime Minister.

Other specialist schools, allowed to select up to 10% of their pupils, now teach more than half of all school pupils in England.

Scottish Labour’s response to specialist schools and city academies has so far been lukewarm but Mr Smith had a message for the party should it decide to follow Mr Blair’s lead.

He spoke out in favour of comprehensive education and urged the Scottish Executive to reject selective schools “dictated by the pecadillos of wealthy magnates”, claiming a less inclusive system would “only serve to create social exclusion for many of Scotland’s young people”.

Highlighting what he claimed were the benefits of the comprehensive system, he cautioned that the desires of a few should not be allowed to remove the “opportunities for all which currently exist”.

Mr Smith said, “It seems to be me to be critically important that we do not move to a situation where educational provision is dictated by the pecadillos of wealthy magnates with money to spare for promoting their own pet ideas with Government.

“We should be concerned when we hear of ideas for city academies in Scotland being backed by the likes of Sir Peter Vardy (evangelical Christian sponsor of Emmanuel College in Gateshead), who has used this in England as a vehicle for promoting his own religious views and the teaching of creationism.

“We, in Scotland, should all stand firm against public policy and the curriculum being driven by such special interests under the guise of philanthropy.

“It is critical that our profession retains a strong and clear voice to influence the developments to come.”

The general secretary also warned against constant change in the way schools are managed, claiming that it is undermining teachers’ confidence.

Mr Smith also urged the executive to think big when it came to smaller class sizes. There existed, he said, an opportunity to cut class sizes at a time when new schools are being built.