School staff and pupils have been attacked and threatened amid increasing violence in schools but security guards and police patrols are not an option, according to Welsh education minister Lynne Neagle. Announcing a "national behaviour summit" to be held in May she said schools should not become "fortresses".

Her comments follow the stabbing at Ysgol Dyffryn in Ammanford, reports of a knife found in a bag at Bryntirion Comprehensive in Bridgend, and repeated reports of increasing violence and behaviour problems from teaching unions. Members of the Nasuwt in various schools have walked out in rows over behaviour.

A teenage girl who stabbed two teachers and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman with her father's multi-tool was found guilty of attempted murder at a trial earlier this month. The pupil at the school had admitted three counts of inflicting grievous harm with intent but denied attempted murder..

As the Ysgol Dyffryn Aman trial ended police were called to another Welsh secondary school after reports that a knife had been found in a boy’s bag after an altercation between pupils. Officers from South Wales Police were sent to Brynitirion Comprehensive School in Bridgend and you can read more about that here.

The knife incidents, although extreme and rare, follow multiple complaints from teachers that they face daily verbal abuse as well as threats of violence, according to Nasuwt Cymru. Among cases raised by the Nasuwt its members at Ysgol Nantwgyn in Tonypandy have just settled a dispute which saw them walk out last term in continued rows over declining pupil behaviour. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

Several recent cases coming before the Education Workforce Council in Wales have also highlighted the verbal abuse some pupils mete out to staff and videos of violence among pupils circulate on social media . Asked how concerned she was about the problem and what action is being taken Ms Neagle said it was important to understand the reasons for bad behaviour in order to address it.

"We want all our schools to be places where young people feel they belong," she said. "Police already have links with schools and if something happens schools can call police. I am not sure schools would want a police officer in school. We have discussed security guards and I am not sure that's where school staff want us to end up.

"These are really complex issues and I don't think school staff want schools to be like fortresses .I am not aware that schools are not safe. There are procedures in place in case of an incident happening. In Ysgol Dyffryn Aman the procedures worked really well. Following that we have reviewed procedures and obviously now the criminal trial has concluded we need to learn lessons."

The minister said schools are being affected by wider social issues causing behaviour and absence problems in schools.. These include rising numbers of young people with mental health issues and additional learning needs and problems regulating emotions.

She said her responses will be based on findings from the summit in May, which unions, school staff, and police can attend, as well as impending research from Bangor University on reasons for bad behaviour in school. The Welsh Government also plans its own findings from talking to young people about their reasons for not attending school.

"Behaviour in schools has been a serious concern for me and I have been hearing about behaviour challenges," the minister added. "Schools need to be safe welcoming places for young people to learn.

"We are already doing lots of work. An Estyn thematic review is being carried out and research is being done at Bangor University on the causes of bad behaviour. Schools work incredibly hard to make sure they are welcoming and safe places and there are legal duties for schools to be a safe environment. It is important to remember that as awful as what happened at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman was these are still rare incidents.

"I know there has been an increase in problematic behaviour and not just the awful incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman. Some teachers say they feel threatened and what we are seeing in schools is a rise in the complexity of needs of young people."

Ms Neagle hopes the £8.8m the Welsh Government announced last year to employ more family engagement officers in schools will help address a range of issues including increasingly bad behaviour and the stubborn school absence problem. The minister admitted her aim to improve standards and attainment can't be reached if children aren't at school but she is not in favour of more fines and prosecutions.

Latest data shows attendance remains substantially below pre-pandemic levels although there was a slight improvement, increasing from 88.5% to 89.0%, in the 2023-2024 academic year. Children on the lowest incomes and those in key exam years are most likely not to be in lessons.

The attendance rate in secondaries fell by 6.3% points between 2018-19 and 2022-23. This equates to each pupil, on average, attending school for 12 days fewer in 2022-23 than they did in 2018-19 while for primary-age pupils attendance fell by 3.2% points over the same period.

"We have been really clear that raising standards particularly in literacy and numeracy is a priority as well as getting children into school. You are not going to raise attainment if children are not in school," Ms Neagle said.

"All parents have a legal duty to make sure their child attends school. Local authorities can fine parents but the guidance is that should be done as a last resort and to look at reasons for non-attendance.

"Schools can authorise up to 10 days absence. But fines are not going to work for all parents – if you have a lot of money a fine is neither here nor there.

"Prosecutions would only come if fines are not paid. I don't think we can see this in a simplistic way and we want schools to work with families whose children are not attending."

The minister was adamant that the effects of the pandemic and remote working are still being felt in schools. She said: "Something has happened since the pandemic. I think we need to do more to reinforce the message about the importance of attending school. The pandemic is quite recent. Schools shut and people have been home working. There are societal attitudes to attendance. There are a whole range of reasons people don't attend school such as poverty, transport, and ALN (additional learning needs)."

On funding – one of the issues schools cite as affecting numbers of support staff and support programmes they can run for children – the minister said the Welsh Government was doing what it could but the budget from Westminster was £1.6bn below what they had hoped for. Schools across Wales have been posting deficits and cutting staff while many used reserves to plug gaps last year and this year.

Ms Neagle said that in the 2024-25 financial year an extra £119m had gone to education and in 2025-26 an additional £111.5m will be pumped in. The Welsh Government had also made clear to councils that the extra £253m given to local government in the last budget would have to be partly used to ease funding pressures on education, she said.

"We have a position where we make decisions based on the needs of Wales. We are providing more money for schools."