Support system there for pupils

It’s often referred to as a“last resort”for schools but excluding a child from class can have a detrimental impact on more than just their education.

Additional stress or strain can be placed on families and friends, so councils like South Lanarkshire have a range of support mechanisms available to help pupils turn a negative into a positive.

Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that no child is excluded from school, but when teachers have no other option, what can be done to prevent it happening again?

Anne Donaldson head of education (inclusion) said: “Exclusion is always a last resort for a head teacher to invoke and the head teacher will take into account the effect a period of exclusion will have on an individual pupil before making that decision.

“Pupils who are excluded will miss out on important educational experiences and may find it more difficult to catch up with work.

“The important part about planning around an exclusion is the process to reset the situation so that the pupil returns in a frame of mind that reduces the chances that further exclusions will occur.

“This is around what we call return-to-school planning and will involve the pupil, parents and school staff in creating a restorative approach to the circumstances that led to the exclusion and building on the positive experience the child will have in school.

“Exclusion from school is not in itself a cause of further difficulties in later life, but it is an indicator of other issues which contribute to antisocial behaviour.

“Giving every child a strong start in life includes meeting the needs of young people who need more choices and chances, and who are at risk of not engaging with or benefiting from compulsory education.

“During an exclusion, the school will provide work and engage in structured interactive contact with the child and family.

“During and after the exclusion, the school staff will look at the interventions that are in place for the child in order that they can manage their school experience.

“These interventions are too numerous to detail in full but can include therapeutic work in nurture rooms, behaviour support, changes to class environments and support through visual timetables and support in class to help the child manage their time and work.

“This work is done through our Staged Intervention process, which all our schools use to take forward planning for individual children.

“Anything that is agreed with pupils and parents can be set out in additional support plans or behaviour assessment and support plans.”

Damage to personal property of staff ............................................................................................... 5 ................................. 0 ................................ 0 ............................. 5 Damage to school property .............................................................................................................. 19 .............................. 24 ............................... 0 .......................... 43 Fighting .................................................................................................................................................. 4 .............................. 139 .............................. 0 ........................ 143 Fire raising .............................................................................................................................................. 0 ................................. 3 ................................ 0 ............................. 3 General or persistent disobedience ................................................................................................. 26 ............................. 127 .............................. 4 ........................ 157 Insolent or offensive behaviour ....................................................................................................... 15 .............................. 71 ............................... 3 .......................... 89 Malicious communications against pupil ......................................................................................... 0 ................................. 2 ................................ 0 ............................. 2 Malicious communications against staff .......................................................................................... 3 ................................. 1 ................................ 0 ............................. 4 Other ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 ............................... 76 ............................... 1 .......................... 86 Physical assault using improvised weapon against pupil .............................................................. 5 ................................. 3 ................................ 0 ............................. 8 Physical assault using improvised weapon against staff ............................................................. 14 ................................ 1 ................................ 0 .......................... 15 Physical assault using weapon against pupil ................................................................................... 2 ................................. 0 ................................ 0 ............................. 2 Physical assault using weapon against staff ..................................................................................... 4 ................................. 1 ................................ 0 ............................. 5 Physical assault with no weapon against pupil .............................................................................. 20 .............................. 94 ............................... 3 ........................ 117 Physical assault with no weapon against staff ............................................................................... 29 .............................. 12 ............................... 4 .......................... 45 Refusal to attend class .......................................................................................................................... 7 ............................... 19 ............................... 3 .......................... 29 Spitting ................................................................................................................................................... 1 ................................. 3 ................................ 0 ............................. 4 Substance misuse - alcohol .................................................................................................................. 0 ................................. 9 ................................ 0 ............................. 9 Substance misuse - not alcohol ........................................................................................................... 0 ............................... 12 ............................... 0 .......................... 12 Sustained peer exclusion for the purpose of causing significant distress ................................... 1 ................................. 0 ................................ 0 ............................. 1 Theft from staff ...................................................................................................................................... 1 ................................. 3 ................................ 0 ............................. 4 Threat of physical violence using weapon or improvised weapon, against pupil ...................... 2 ................................. 3 ................................ 0 ............................. 5 Threat of physical violence using weapon or improvised weapon, against staff ....................... 9 ................................. 1 .............................. 12 ......................... 22 Threat of physical violence, no weapon, against pupil ................................................................... 6 ................................. 9 ................................ 1 .......................... 16 Threat of physical violence, no weapon, against staff ..................................................................... 8 ................................. 9 ................................ 1 .......................... 19 Threat of sexual violence against pupil ............................................................................................. 0 ................................. 2 ................................ 0 ............................. 2 Threat to personal property against pupil ........................................................................................ 0 ................................. 1 ................................ 0 ............................. 1 Threat to personal property against staff ......................................................................................... 1 ................................. 1 ................................ 0 ............................. 2 Threat to school property .................................................................................................................. 15 ................................ 4 ................................ 1 .......................... 20 Verbal abuse of pupils ........................................................................................................................ 15 .............................. 12 ............................... 1 .......................... 28 Verbal abuse of staff ........................................................................................................................... 25 ............................. 143 .............................. 3 ........................ 171