The Conservatives will accuse ministers of “abandoning” teachers as they face rising numbers of violent incidents in Scottish schools.

A Tory motion will today call on all MSPs to work together to deal with the problem “without delay”.

The latest Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research Report, published in November, found “a general worsening of pupil behaviour” since 2016, including increases in low-level disruption, disengagement and serious disruptive behaviour.

Teaching unions have been warning that their members face increasing violence in schools, with an EIS assistant secretary saying last month that some teachers have been left with broken bones and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Conservative education spokesperson Liam Kerr said: “Violence in schools has continued to escalate, with teachers paying the price for the SNP’s abject failure to tackle the issue.

“It’s totally intolerable that so many teachers are being physically attacked at work – with some ending up in hospital with broken bones.”

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters