School chiefs warn return to expelling unruly pupils will make things worse
Head teachers in Scotland have warned against any return to expelling badly behaved pupils, saying the sanction creates at “vicious circle” that can “ruin” the life of a youngster.
Schoolleadersscotland(sls) also said most of its members do not feel under “pressure” to avoid suspending pupils.
The remarks from the organisation, which represents secondary school heads, depute heads and principal teachers, come after The Scotsman highlighted figures this week showing there was just one permanent exclusion from a Scottish school last year, down from 360 in 1999 and 248 in 2007. Suspensions have also plummeted,from44,546in2006to11,675 lastyear,despiterisingconcerns about violence and behaviour.
SLS general secretary Graham Hutton said permanent exclusions were only sanctioned by local authority education directors. “We are fortunate in Scotland in not being in the same position as other UK jurisdictions, specifically England, where there are loads of kids ‘missing from education’,” he said.
“Anyyoungpersonwhois‘permanently excluded’ from a particular school will be found an alternativeeducationalvenueby thelocalauthority.
“Permanent exclusions as seen in England, however, do not solve any issues and only exacerbate the problems being experienced by the young person – it’ll ruin their life chances and will become a vicious circle with other agencies no doubt becoming involved throughout their lifetime.”
Mr Hutton said there was a placefortemporaryexclusions, however, which are generally delegated to head teachers. He added:“mostslsheadteachers haveneverfeltunderpressureto minimiseexclusions–although theydoallkeepawaryeyeonthe figures,butifexclusionratesare high then something else is not right, in our opinion.”
Mr Hutton said schools needed appropriate support and resources to tackle issues that can lead to exclusion, adding: “Thecommonthemefromhead teachers here is the lack of additional support or alternative provision, which is often needed to support these young people, beyond what can be offered in schools.”
Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union,saidalternativestoexclusion require the support of “significantandsustained”funding.
Shesaid:“scotlandhasunderstood that there are long-term risks for young people, who are excludedfromschoolandmany of these risks can be financially costlyforsociety.whatscotland does not seem to have grasped is that sound alternatives to exclusionandproperlypromoting positive relationships and behaviour in schools, including amongst children who have additionalsupportneeds(asn) that can give rise to distressed behaviour when support needs are unmet, require significant and sustained investment."
The Scottish Government, which is drawing up a national action plan to tackle school behaviour concerns, has said that exclusion can have a “significant impact” on a young person’slearningandfutureoutcomes, which is why guidance for schools “ensures that there is a strong focus on supporting positive behaviour to prevent the need for exclusion”.
Permanent exclusions as seen in England do not solve any issues and only exacerbate the problems