There various kinds of exclusion from school, such as truancy which is a form of self-exclusion by the pupil as well as exclusion by the school of those pupils who have broken the behaviour code of the school. These different forms of exclusion are often linked to each other and all forms are seen as connected to social exclusion, or to a lack of participation in the mainstream of society. Some groups of young people are particularly vulnerable to exclusion. For example, children who are looked after by the local authority are thirty times more likely to be excluded by the school for breaches of discipline. Boys in primary schools in Scotland are ten times more likely than girls to be excluded by the school. The procedures for school exclusions are outlined below followed by discussion of issues raised by this practice.

Procedures
Two categories of exclusion, temporary exclusion and 'removed from the register' (of the current school), are recognized in the regulations governing school exclusions (Schools General (Scotland) Regulations, 1975). The period of exclusion for particular kinds of misbehaviour is not prescribed but Local Authorities usually place a ceiling of twenty school days on the term of the exclusion, with pupils being asked to leave the school for a period of between two days and four weeks depending on the nature of the incident. Schools would usually develop their own 'tariff' system where offences judged to be less serious, or first misdemeanours, would be punished with periods of up to three days. The tariff would usually rise on each subsequent occasion, if the pupil were judged to have again breached the disciplinary code. The lack of regulation of the period of exclusions leads to inequities with the same or similar 'offence' attracting widely differing punishments depending upon the school, the pupil, the teachers involved and other factors. While this situation leads to unfairness, it is also seen (by professionals) as having a positive side, as it allows schools to respond flexibly and in ways which take account of factors such as the personal circumstances of the pupil, as well as the seriousness of the disciplinary incident.

The second type of exclusion practised in Scotland - 'removed from the register' of the school - is used where the offence is regarded as serious, or where a particular pupil has had a number of previous temporary exclusions for earlier breaches of the code. In such cases and within the four-week period of the exclusion, the headteacher of the school would be invited to attend a meeting with representatives of the education authority, the pupil, his/her parents and their representatives so that the school placement offered to the pupil might be considered in a welfare as well as a disciplinary light. In spite of the intention to make the interests of the pupil central to the decision about placement, the process sometimes breaks down at this point, for example, when the alternative placement offered to the pupil and his family is unacceptable to them for reasons of distance from the family home. Pupils can therefore be out of the school system for much longer than the period of the original exclusion. The regulations in Scotland differ from those in England where three types of exclusion are practiced - 'fixed-term' (similar to 'temporary' discussed above), 'indefinite' and 'permanent'.

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Content last updated: 12/05/2004

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