Analysis: A child-friendly Scotland must be our goal

This report raises some interesting issues. At Children 1st, we have over 125 years’ experience of working with young people across Scotland, and we know poor behaviour in school is often a symptom of issues that are happening within the home.

We agree that exclusion from school is not a solution.

But at the same time we are also concerned that the introduction of inclusion units seems to address only the logistics of where these young people would be, with the primary concern being the need to keep them off the streets during the day.

The questions we need to be asking should start with “why” not “where”.

To see a real societal shift, we need to look at why this is happening and take action at the earliest possible stage to improve a child’s life chances.

Early intervention is key in this issue, as it is in so many of the issues that we face in Scotland today.

We need to start shifting resources from crisis support, that merely applies a sticking plaster to problems, into early interventions that prevent some of these issues happening.

In some cases, it may be that parents or carers just need a little more support and guidance on how best to deal with problematic behaviour that is taking place in the home.

In more serious cases, the child or young person may be experiencing abuse, neglect or violence in the home and their behaviour in school is affected as a result.

Regardless of the scale or the cause, it is these issues, and their effect on children and young people, that cause many of the complaints people have about many of the young people in our society.

Policy-makers and the general public need to start looking at the issues hiding behind negative behaviour.

If they do not, then we will continue to be caught in the cycle of low expectations and low outcomes for many of the young people in our society.

We need to move towards a more child-friendly Scotland, where our children are valued, respected and protected in our homes, schools and communities.

• Anne Houston is chief executive of the charity Children 1st.