A parent council has called for community policing patrols at an Edinburgh primary school after staff reported "regularly feeling threatened and unsafe at work".
Ferryhill Primary has faced incidents of parents fighting in the playground and "aggression and violence" directed towards teachers and support staff. The Drylaw school's parent council said some confrontations had even involved "dangerous weapons", such as poles and hammers.
This month, members threatened to pull their children out of school to protest the lack of action taken over growing safety concerns. However, the 'strike day' was cancelled after the council announced new measures to tackle the anti-social behaviour, Edinburgh Live reports.
Now, a union is calling for a community policing to be stepped-up at the school to deter incidents of violence involving "a minority of parents". Pauline Henderson, convener of communities and families for Unison Edinburgh, said officers should be present at the beginning and end of the school day "when the behaviours are at their worst" beginning after the summer break.
She said: "In the last few months we at Unison have been dealing with members who have been adversely affected by the situation. Our members regularly feel threatened and unsafe at work as parents in the playground and the school building display aggressive behaviour towards other parents and staff."
A statement issued by Ferryhill Primary Parent Council earlier this month said there were also reported of infants and nursery children leaving the premises unattended "on more than one occasion". It said concerns of "bullying, violence, and racism" have led to "fear and apprehension among children and parents" and "reluctance in entering the playground".
The statement continued: "Our foremost priority is to support the dedicated staff members of Ferryhill Primary School, who are working tirelessly to overcome these challenges. The school has devised a plan to navigate through these issues, but we acknowledge that this is a complex process that requires time and effort."
Parents have now demanded that a timeline is set out for when changes are to be made by the council and police. They added that they would not rule out reviving plans for strike action if there is no improvement.
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