(Image: PA)
Almost 500 claims of violent incidents at work made by staff at Glasgow’s children’s houses have been submitted over the past years, new figures reveal.
A Freedom of Information Request (FOI) shows that the number of staff in 2023 based within children’s houses who claimed to have been injured, including psychologically, due to a violent incident at work sat at 148.
The figures dropped to 131 and 119 in 2024 and 2025 respectively and sat at 98 for the time period between January 1, 2026 and September 8, 2026.
Councillor Paul Carey BEM who worked in children’s homes for a number of years says he knows just how “challenging and emotionally demanding” the work can be and these figures are “deeply” concerning.
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He said: “Behind every statistic is a real person. There is a young person who may have experienced trauma, neglect, abuse or instability, and there is a member of staff who has come to work to provide care, reassurance and support. We must remember both sides of this issue.
“Children who enter residential care have often experienced more hardship in their young lives than many of us will ever fully understand. Their behaviour can sometimes reflect that trauma, frustration or fear. They need patience, understanding and skilled care — not to be written off or blamed for circumstances they may never have had control over.
“But we must also be honest about the pressure on the people caring for them. Staff deserve to feel safe at work, to receive proper support and to know that their employer is taking concerns seriously. Protecting young people and protecting the workforce must go hand in hand.”
Councillor Carey said the figures make for “worrying reading”. He says it is important to look at the wider system, including staffing levels, access to specialist support, the complexity of individual cases and the training provided to those working on the frontline.
He added: “I believe proper training must be a priority before staff take up these demanding roles, with regular refresher training throughout their careers.
“Staff need the skills to recognise when a situation is escalating, communicate calmly, understand triggers and use appropriate de-escalation techniques. They must also know how to protect themselves and others when a situation becomes dangerous.
“Physical intervention should never be treated as an easy answer. It must be a last resort when necessary to protect people from harm, carried out by appropriately trained staff and followed by proper recording, review and support.
“The Scottish Government’s Promise to care-experienced children was clear: young people must receive the love, support and opportunities they deserve. That promise must mean something in practice, not simply appear in speeches and policy documents.
“Glasgow cannot afford to ignore these concerns. We owe it to the young people who depend on these services, and to the dedicated staff who work every day to support them, to get this right.
“This is not about blame. It is about responsibility. Every young person deserves to feel safe, and every member of staff deserves to go home safely at the end of their shift.
“We should judge our care system not by the promises it makes, but by how well it protects and supports the people who depend on it.”
A spokesperson for Glasgow’s Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We take any assault on our workforce very seriously and continually adopt measures to ensure practice and interventions remain up to date and in keeping with best practice.
“Following every reported violent incident, managers and Health and Safety colleagues conduct a robust review and ensure learning and support arrangements are deployed wherever necessary.”