Peter Fox has highlighted Labour’s underfunding of our educational system as a reason for falling behaviour in our schools.
Speaking in a debate on behaviour in our schools, brought forward by the Welsh Conservatives, Peter Fox spoke on the impact that bad behaviour has on our schools and wider society as a whole.
There has been a 6% increase in bullying between 2021 and 2023, a figure that is of huge concern and today’s bullying isn’t as we knew it now can be constant via social media 24 /7 with no release for the victim, another consequence of societal change.
Welsh local authorities received 6446 violent incident reports from schools in 2023-24, compared to 4714 the previous year.
Furthermore, Transport for Wales has also reported a rise anti-social behaviour on the Core Valley Lines with nearly two-thirds of instances of anti-social behaviour on the lines involving individuals under the age of 17.
Commenting, Peter Fox MS said:
“Poor behavioural standards negatively affect the whole school community leading to a downward trend in school standards, reputation and pupil outcomes as well as distressing implications on individuals.
“This problem is not limited to the school grounds, and we cannot underestimate the appalling affect it has on a wider community.
“The Welsh Government must work with local authorities across Wales to develop robust strategies to deal with the societal decline that seems to be permeating through some of our schools, an issue that has deteriorated since the pandemic.”
