Incident of violence and aggression in Perth and Kinross nurseries have risen almost 800% in three years, it has been revealed.
Since 2010, the number of reported attacks by young children has increased from nine to 71.
When school holidays are taken into consideration, this is the equivalent of almost two incidents each week.
Meanwhile, primary school pupils are also setting a worrying trend, incidents rising from 229 in 2010 to 307 the following year, although this dropped slightly to 289 incidents in 2012.
According to Perth and Kinross Council’s own definitions, these can include physical assault, damage to council property, assault with a weapon, verbal aggression, threatening behaviour and throwing a missile.
Staff are also asked to report on the type of incident and whether it was racially or sexually motivated, motivated by disability or sexual orientation and whether it involved an “improvised object” or weapon.
A politician has called for immediate action to address the issue.
MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife and Conservative spokeswoman for young people Liz Smith said: “Perth and Kinross Council has recently received excellent reports when it comes to pupil discipline, so it is a matter of concern that there has been such a significant rise in serious discipline issues within nursery schools.
“Parents will expect quick action from the council and the schools themselves to address this problem,” added Ms Smith.
“They need to know that there will be a good balance between encouraging good behaviour and impressing upon the children that failure to adhere to good behaviour will not be tolerated.”
She also highlighted the importance of “strong discipline and mutual respect” between teaching staff and children.
“This, in turn, depends on nursery staff and head teachers as the skilled professionals on the frontline, knowing exactly what to do when difficult situations arise,” Ms Smith added.
“Perth and Kinross Council, therefore, has an obligation to tackle this problem as quickly as possible so that it can help staff to reduce the level of serious incidents in nursery schools.”
The local authority has taken steps to tackle the issue and has developed a revised policy into the use of physical intervention in extreme cases, although it claims that such incidents are “infrequent”.
It aims to adopt CALM (Crisis and Aggression Limitation and Management) methods and techniques, which range from directing a child away from conflict to restraining the student with the help of a colleague.
A spokesman from Perth and Kinross Council said that “less than 1%” of pupils are involved in incidents of violence and aggression and that the local authority has a “zero tolerance” approach to bad behaviour in schools.
She added “We consider early intervention to be crucial in helping children and young people have the best chances in life.
“Incidents of verbal and physical violence and aggression can range from throwing a piece of paper to physical assault we consider all such incidents unacceptable.
“Our first main contact with children is at nursery where individual children will be at different stages of development and may have additional support needs.
“All our staff are strongly encouraged to report any incidents so that appropriate and where required, intensive support can be put in place in the best interests of the child.”