Exclusive:Exclusions Scotland: School chiefs warn any return to expelling unruly pupils will only 'exacerbate' problems

The intervention comes after just one pupil was permanently excluded across Scottish schools last year

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.

School Leaders Scotland (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.

School pupils. David Jones/PA Wire

Suspensions have also plummeted, from 44,546 in 2006 to 11,675 last year, despite rising concerns 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.

"This is important in comparing Scotland with the other nations of the UK. Any young person who is ‘permanently excluded’ from a particular school will be found an alternative educational venue by the local authority.

“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. Therefore, we should be trying to limit permanent exclusions.”

Mr Hutton said there was a place for temporary exclusions, however, which are generally delegated to head teachers.

"Because schools are effectively now the only remaining universal front line service, due to cuts to other support services, temporary exclusion is often an appropriate route – not a punishment (although others do need to see it as that), but to provide a bit of a breathing space so that appropriate plans can be put in place if the pupil is to be readmitted or if there is a plan to involve other provision within an authority/school,” he said.

Mr Hutton added: "Most SLS head teachers have never felt under pressure to minimise exclusions – although they do all keep a wary eye on the figures, but if exclusion rates are high then something else is not right, in our opinion.”

Describing the process, one head teacher said: "The guide I use for exclusions is what else does it give us/the pupil – more than meeting with parents, gaining their support etc. If the answer is nothing, then we don’t exclude.”

Mr Hutton said schools needed appropriate support and resources to tackle issues that can lead to exclusion.

“The common theme from head 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,” he said.

Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union, said alternatives to exclusion require the support of “significant and sustained” funding.

Ms Bradley said the EIS would wish to see exclusion only ever used as “a last resort where all other sanctions have been ineffectual or where the matter at hand is so serious that exclusion from school is the only appropriate available sanction or health and safety response”.

She said: “Scotland has understood that there are long-term risks for young people, who are excluded from school and many of these risks can be financially costly for society. What Scotland does not seem to have grasped is that sound alternatives to exclusion and properly promoting positive relationships and behaviour in schools, including amongst children who have additional support needs (ASN) that can give rise to distressed behaviour when support needs are unmet, require significant and sustained investment."

Ms Bradley highlighted EIS calls to employ more teachers, reduce class sizes and increase funding for specialist ASN provision.

By doing this, she said Scotland could “finally start to deliver on the promise of inclusion, genuinely preventing the need for a large number of exclusions from school, whilst fully protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of teachers, support staff and students”.

Exclusion policy and behaviour problems were debated on the Kaye Adams show on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday morning. It featured a call from Jane in Perth, a former primary head teacher who retired early after becoming “disillusioned with it all”.

She said: "I had young teachers who were off sick for three months because of the behaviour in the classroom, and these were Primary 1 and Primary 2. You do as much as you can, get as much support as you can get in, but over the years that I was a head teacher you have your support staff cut, cut, cut every year. So there isn’t the support any more, and there isn’t the bases and the units to support these children.

"So we are failing children who have got additional support needs, and we’re also failing children who don’t have additional support needs, because they are actually in the classroom in fear that something is going to happen – maybe a pair of scissors is going to be thrown at them or their hair is going to be cut, or they are going to be stabbed with the scissors.”

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’s learning and future outcomes, which is why guidance for schools “ensures that there is a strong focus on supporting positive behaviour to prevent the need for exclusion”.

It has also provided councils with £145.5 million in next year’s budget to protect teacher numbers.