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This document contains analysis of the exclusions data for 2006/07. Information relates to local authority schools only. Exclusions include both temporary exclusions and pupils removed from the register.
Nearly all of this publication refers to cases of exclusion, which must not be confused with the number of pupils excluded, as some pupils were excluded more than once during the year.
The main findings are:
- During 2006/07 there were 44,794 exclusions from local authority schools in Scotland, an increase of four per cent from 2005/06. The number of exclusions has risen each year since 2002/03. About 22,800 different pupils (three per cent of pupils) were excluded during the year.
- Overall, male pupils accounted for 78 per cent of exclusions, the same as 2005/06. The proportion has decreased from 81 per cent in 1999/2000.
- There were 6,018 exclusions from local authority primary schools, 13 per cent of the total, and equivalent to 16 exclusions per 1,000 pupils. The number is a four per cent increase from 5,779 exclusions in 2005/06.
- There were 37,566 exclusions from local authority secondary schools, 84 per cent of the total, and equivalent to 120 exclusions per 1,000 pupils. Exclusion rates peaked during S3, with 204 exclusions per 1,000 pupils. The number of exclusions in secondary has increased by four per cent from 36,136 exclusions in 2005/06.
- There were 1,210 exclusions from local authority special schools, three per cent of the total, and equivalent to 183 exclusions per 1,000 pupils.
- As in previous years exclusion rates were highest either side of half term during the Christmas to Easter period. This year the first week of March had the highest number of exclusions.
- Ninety-five per cent of all temporary exclusions lasted one week or less. The average length was 3 days.
- Of the 22,800 pupils excluded, 59 per cent were excluded on one occasion only during the year and 18 per cent were excluded twice during the year.
- Over 99 per cent of all exclusions were temporary. In 248 cases, pupils were removed from the register of the school, a decrease of six per cent from the 2005/06 figure of 264. Local authorities may also reach agreements with parents to move a pupil to another school without the use of a formal 'removal from register', but where the pupil is unlikely to have the option of staying in the school.
- Pupils from minority ethnic groups generally had a lower exclusion rate than white- UK pupils, but with rates varying widely across the different ethnic groups 1. Black Caribbean pupils had the highest rates of exclusion, with Asian-Chinese the lowest.
- Pupils with English as an additional language had considerably lower rates of exclusion than other pupils, with an exclusion rate of about a third of that amongst other pupils.
- Although information on pupils with a disability in the 2006 school census was not complete, where pupils had been assessed or declared as having a disability the rate of exclusion was almost sixty per cent higher than amongst other pupils.
- Among pupils with additional support needs, exclusions were generally more common in mainstream classes than in special schools. Pupils in special classes within mainstream schools had the lowest exclusion rate. Pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties had the highest rates of exclusion.
- Pupils registered for free school meals, pupils with additional support needs, and pupils looked after by the local authority all had higher exclusion rates than other pupils. Where a pupil had all three of these factors the exclusion rate was 13 times that of pupils with none of them.
- Reasons for exclusion showed that 32 per cent of exclusions involved general or persistent disobedience; 26 per cent involved verbal abuse of members of staff; and 16 per cent involved insolent or offensive behaviour.
- In terms of the cause or motivating factor for the incident, 0.3 per cent of incidents were caused by alcohol abuse, 0.3 per cent were racially motivated and 0.2 per cent were caused by substance abuse.
- Overall, there were 64 exclusions per 1,000 pupils from local authority primary, secondary, and special schools in Scotland in 2006/07. This ranged between local authorities from 126 per 1,000 pupils to 10 per 1,000 pupils.
UNDERSTANDING THESE STATISTICS
General background on exclusion policy
1. Under Circulars 10/93 and 1/95, local authorities are required each year to collect certain statistics from schools on exclusions. The statistics relate to half-days of temporary exclusions and number of pupils removed from the register (previously known as 'permanent' exclusions).
2. In April 1998, the then Scottish Office issued Circular 2/98 to local authorities, informing them of a formal requirement to report, record and monitor additional information on exclusions from schools starting from the 1998/99 school year. Since 2003/04 an agreed set of information on each exclusion has been sent to the Scottish Government as part of the ScotXed programme of data exchange.
3. Following an answer to a Parliamentary Question in June 2003, the Government issued Circular 8/03 in November 2003, which gave revised guidance and formally informed local authorities that the target to reduce exclusions had been dropped.
4. An exclusion is temporary when a pupil is excluded from a school but remains on the register of that school because they are expected to return when the exclusion period is completed. The term 'removed from the register' refers to a pupil who is excluded and their name removed from the school register. Such a pupil would then be educated at another school or via some other form of provision.
5. Local authorities may also reach agreements with parents to move a pupil to another school without the use of a formal 'removal from register', but where the pupil is unlikely to have the option of staying in the school.
Issues relating to data
6. This survey covers local authority primary, secondary and special schools.
7. Since 2003/04 data has been collected at individual level, enabling greater analysis. This also enabled linkage to the September pupil census information. However in 2006/07 for 740 exclusions (two per cent) linkage to the census dataset was not possible, due mainly to a change of pupil identifier. This has been shown in all relevant tables as "data not available".
8. As in 2005/06 several local authorities did not return data on the number of days lost due to the pupils being removed from the register. The number of days lost per 1,000 pupils has been calculated on just those local authorities who returned data. The 2005/06 figure for days lost to removals from register per 1,000 pupils has been revised.
9. Information is received at pupil level and a unique pupil identifier ( UPN) was introduced in 2006. The UPN should enable a distinction to be made between different pupils. This is important ( e.g. when counting the number of individual pupils excluded) as some pupils with two or more exclusions may have been counted as separate pupils with one exclusion each. However, since some local authorities had problems implementing the UPN it has not been possible to combine data for these pupils in the analysis in this report.
10. It was found that information on temporary exclusions was not consistent with information on absence due to temporary exclusion received in the attendance survey. Validation checks have been built into information systems to ensure that consistent data is recorded, and this problem is being reduced.
11. Data are collected on appeals to local authorities against exclusions. Poor data quality in some areas has meant that this information has again not being published this year.
12. In table 9, a two-year average of exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils has been used to reduce the instability in rates of exclusion due to small numbers in several minority ethnic groups. This analysis may be affected by the three per cent of pupils in the school census for whom ethnicity is not disclosed, or the 740 exclusions for which data could not be matched to the school census information.
13. Data was collected on whether a child was looked after by the local authority at the time of their exclusion from school. This indicator has been used to calculate numbers of exclusions in table 11. Figures for the number of pupils who has been looked after at any point during the year are not collected centrally. It has therefore been necessary to calculate rates based on those pupils who were looked after at the time of the census.
Other information
14. All percentages and rates are rounded separately and breakdowns may consequently not sum to 100 per cent.
15. This report was edited by: Carrie Graham, Raymond Sloan and Mal Cooke.
16. This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.
17. All tables are available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00623
Symbols
18. The following symbols are used:
- = nil or rounds to nil
## = not applicable. In data on special schools, local authorities are marked as ## where there are no special schools.
Enquiries
19. Public enquiries (non-media) about the information contained in this notice should be addressed to
Carrie Graham
Pupil, Teacher and School Statistics
Room 1B South
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ.
Telephone 0131 244 0300
or e-mail school.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
20. Media enquiries about the information in this notice should be addressed to:
Marion MacKay : 0131 244 3070
Statistics Publication Notice
29 th January, 2008
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