Disruptive pupils ‘shouldn’t be excluded from school’

SCHOOLS should be banned from excluding pupils, in order to stop troubled children graduating into young offenders, the inspector of prisons has said.

Brigadier Hugh Monro also hit out at the culture of violence in which many young Scots have grown up, where families “not only encouraged retaliation in incidents of conflict, but demanded it”.

He warned that, for some, the battle to steer children away from a life of crime must start at “year nought”.

Speaking at the launch of his second annual review, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland said his findings were based on conversations with inmates at Polmont young offenders’ institution.

He said pupils whose behaviour merited suspension or expulsion should be taught in “inclusion units”, similar to one at Dunfermline High School.

However, the headteachers’ body School Leaders Scotland warned that rolling units out nationwide would be expensive.

In a report that praised prisons and staff for their work with Scotland’s “most violent, dangerous and vulnerable people”, Brigadier Monro said youth offending was a “particular concern”.

“By excluding children, you are not only excluding them from school, you are excluding them, in my view, from society,” he added.

“They’re excluded from everything when they are excluded from school. It’s that exclusion that gets them into trouble. I speak to young offenders who say that when you are out of school no-one knows what you are doing.

“I think there should be an end to exclusion; there should only be inclusion, using inclusion units in schools.

“Exclusion – when it happens – means people do not know what children are getting up to.”

He added: “There are far too many young people in prison – people who should be contributing, but are not being helped by the state.

“We have to start at a very early age indeed, for children put in high-risk areas we should start at year nought, so by the time they get to primary school they are in a position to communicate and learn as best they can. We need to sustain a functioning family so that, by the time they get to secondary school and reach their early teens, the risks of reoffending are greatly reduced.

“That’s a tall order, and it’s not going to be fixed over the next few years. It’s a cultural change that we have to make over a generation.”

Introducing “inclusion centres” at all, or many, schools, would cost money at a time when finances are tight.

Ken Cunningham, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, said headteachers were determined to reduce exclusions – but the option must remain.

“For some time now the Scottish Government and headteachers have been working together to be as inclusive as possible,” he said. “We want to rehabilitate as much as possible, but we do it in the context of maintaining discipline in schools.

“There are times when behaviour is so extreme that youngsters can’t stay in mainstream schools.”

He also warned that rolling out “inclusion centres” would require a great deal of funding.

Ending exclusion received some political backing, with Scottish Conservatives calling for a similar pilot.

A party spokesman said: “When it comes to persistently unruly pupils, we want to pilot Second Chance Centres. This would involve unruly pupils being taken out of mainstream education and taught in separate centres until they learn to refocus their lives.

“Well-behaved pupils must be able get on with learning, and teachers to get on with teaching, without the distraction of a few badly behaved pupils.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: “There are far too many young people, often young men, excluded from school but given no other alternative.”

However, Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Johann Lamont said: “In my view a blanket ban on exclusions from school is not the answer.”

Reducing youth crime is a key target for Scottish police.

A Prince’s Trust study found crime cost Scotland £300,000 a day, or £112 million over the course of a year.

Chief Supt Ruaraidh Nicolson, the secretary of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland’s criminal justice business area, said: “Reducing youth offending and diverting people away from criminal behaviour is a key priority for the police.”

A Scottish Government spokesman added: “Recent figures have shown a significant decrease in the number of exclusions from school, which reflects the ongoing hard work by teachers, headteachers and support staff, and a real concerted effort by local authorities and their partners to improve relationships and behaviour and to work with pupils most at risk of exclusion.”