Exclusive:SNP blamed for school behaviour crisis after just one pupil permanently excluded last year

Scottish teachers ‘handcuffed’ by drive to cut exclusions and suspensions

The SNP has been accused of creating a “safeguarding disaster” after a drive to cut exclusions meant just one pupil was removed from their school in a year when there were thousands of violent attacks in classrooms.

Figures show every other badly behaved pupil in the country was able to return to their original school, even if they were suspended for a few days.

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A teaching union said the trend follows years of “pressure” from the Government and local authorities to effectively eliminate permanent exclusions.

Primary school children in a classroom. Danny Lawson/PA WirePrimary school children in a classroom. Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Primary school children in a classroom. Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Tom Bennett, a UK Government adviser on school behaviour, said teachers and schools were “handcuffed by a system that absurdly presumes that all misbehaviour – from chasing to sexual harassment and drug dealing – can be managed by having a nice chat to the student”.

There were 360 permanent exclusions in Scotland in 1999, but the number fell rapidly after the SNP came to power, from 248 in 2006/07, to 164 in 2007/08, before plummeting again to 87 the following year.

By 2014/15 and 2016/17 there were only five permanent exclusions, falling to just one during the pandemic in 2020/21, and again in 2022/23.

Temporary exclusions have followed a similar trend, with 44,546 such suspensions in 2006, reducing continuously to 14,987 in 2018/19, then 8,322 during the pandemic in 2020/21, when schools were closed for long periods.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth chats to pupils during a visit to Craigmount High School in Edinburgh to mark SQA Results Day 2023. Andrew Milligan/PA WireEducation Secretary Jenny Gilruth chats to pupils during a visit to Craigmount High School in Edinburgh to mark SQA Results Day 2023. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth chats to pupils during a visit to Craigmount High School in Edinburgh to mark SQA Results Day 2023. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Figures published last month for 2022/23 show a rise to 11,675 suspensions, but the number remained 22 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

In England, there were 6,495 permanent exclusions in 2021/22, and 578,280 suspensions.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has said she discussed exclusions policy at the first meeting of a new headteacher task force in June, but it is unclear whether national guidance will be strengthened or clarified.

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Mr Bennett, a former teacher in London who founded researchEd and advises the Westminster Government on school behaviour, said pupils and staff were paying the price for the failure of the exiting policy.

He said: “The current Scottish Government's approach to managing behaviour in schools is driving the behaviour crisis that teachers and leaders are trying to cope with. But they can't do that when they are explicitly told not to suspend or exclude by the people who make the rules.

"No one wants to exclude a student, but if their behaviour makes learning unbearable or impossible, or threatens the safety, dignity or health of others, then sometimes, after we have tried everything we can, we need to exclude.

"Not doing that when you have to is a safeguarding disaster. Teachers know it, most leaders know it, but they are handcuffed by a system that absurdly presumes that all misbehaviour – from chasing to sexual harassment and drug dealing – can be managed by having a nice chat to the student."

Mr Bennett linked the crisis to Scotland’s declining performance in the OECD’s Pisa tests, and said that chaotic school environments hurt everyone, particularly the most disadvantaged, children with special needs, or tumultuous and deprived lives at home.

“Without calm classrooms and corridors. learning is decimated. And we can see that increasingly in the nosedive that Scottish education has demonstrated through its recent PISA outcomes. Children, and staff deserve better,” he said.

Efforts to cut exclusions began before the SNP came to power, with a scheme running from 1997, initially under the Scotland Office, seeking to reduce exclusions among pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Since 1998, guidance has emphasised that exclusion should only be used as a last resort, and between 1999 and 2003 there was a formal target to reduce exclusions.

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The Labour-Liberal Democrat-run Scottish Executive later funded “restorative practice” pilots in North Lanarkshire, Highland and Fife which aimed to help disruptive pupils take responsibility for their actions and apologise.

An evaluation of the pilots found that enthusiastic implementation of restorative practices could improve behaviour in schools, and reduce exclusion rates.

The most recent figures for 2022/23 show the exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils was two and a half times higher for males compared to females.

Having an additional support need (ASN) also increases the likelihood of exclusion, with rates almost five times higher than those without an ASN.

Rates of exclusion were also three and a half times greater for pupils living in the most deprived areas, compared to those from the most affluent.

Mike Corbett, national official for Scotland at the NASUWT teaching union, said he had no objection to the principle of trying to reduce exclusions.

“There is some evidence that some pupils who are subject to exclusion end up struggling even more than they were, and sometimes drop out of the system etc,” he said.

“So in principle we don’t have a major issue with that initial drive to at least look at exclusions and the reasons for them and to seek, maybe, better ways to address the behaviour issues in school.

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"The biggest problem, of course, unsurprisingly, is that since then we’ve had year after year of reduced resources.”

Mr Corbett said that if you are going to reduce exclusions, you need extra staff and time to provide one-to-one and specialist support to youngsters who are struggling.

"But because there has been a lack of resources to take some of these kids out of the mainstream class, out of the mainstream school, and try to give them the dedicated support they need, these kids are remaining in school, exclusion is not being used, and a lot of them are just seeing it as carte blanche to just say, ‘alright I can get away with whatever I want here’,” he said.

"They are causing more disruption and you get some copycat behaviours – other kids think, ‘well, they are doing that, they are swearing at that teacher, they are throwing that chair, they are assaulting that other pupil, and they are not being excluded. There are no rules here, I’ll just join in’.”

“It’s not the only reason, but that is a key thread as to how we find ourselves in a position with increased misbehaviour, increased instances of abuse and violence within schools.

"We would always say exclusion should always be there as a tool. To be used rarely, yes, but it still should be there as an option for a headteacher.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the significant impact that exclusion can have on a young person’s learning and future outcomes – that is why our guidance for schools ensures that there is a strong focus on supporting positive behaviour to prevent the need for exclusion.

"This guidance is clear that exclusion should only be used as a last resort, where there is no appropriate alternative.

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“The Education Secretary has been clear that more needs to be done to address incidents of behaviour, which is why the Scottish Government is bringing forward a National Action Plan - this will set out a range of actions needed at both local and national level.”

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