Data Insight: Understanding exclusions in Scottish secondary schools

This Data Insight explores the patterning of educational exclusions in Scottish secondary schools, including the variation across schools and council areas. It also explores the effects of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the pupils on their likelihood of receiving an exclusion.

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Background

In Scotland, a school exclusion is a disciplinary measure whereby a pupil is sent home and not allowed to attend school. This can be either for a fixed period of time (‘temporary exclusion’) or permanently (‘removed from register’). The power to exclude a pupil from school rests with the local educational authority, which can delegate such power to the school’s senior management team. The Scottish Government’s guidance states that exclusions are to be used as a last resort, when it is deemed that allowing a young person to remain in attendance would be seriously detrimental to the order, discipline, or educational wellbeing of learners within the school. This reflects the gravity of the measure itself and of the circumstances leading to it.

There has been marked divergence in the practice and policy of school exclusions between Scotland and England. Permanent exclusions in Scotland have almost been eliminated, from 21 cases in 2012/13 down to 1 single case in 2022/23. Meanwhile in England, they have increased from 4,632 in 2012/13 to 6,495 in 2021/22.

According to the Scottish Government, among the groups of young people who face a higher likelihood of exclusion are students who:

• have been assessed or declared as having a disability
• are (or have been) care-experienced
• come from the most deprived areas
• are identified as having an additional support need, or have an additional support need specifically identified as social, emotional, and behavioural in nature.

Exclusions from schools can have long-lasting effects on the lives of young people. In terms of educational achievement, young people subject to exclusions are far less likely to achieve qualifications at the Higher or Advanced Higher levels (senior phase of secondary school) or, indeed, any qualifications at all in secondary school¹. Outside of education, excluded young people are more likely to have decreased wellbeing due to shame and fear, loss of relationships, diminished school connectedness and sense of belonging. Furthermore, exclusions from school can be part of a series of circumstances that lead young people to have an increased risk of anti-social or offending behaviour.

There remain gaps in the knowledge about the contexts, causes and consequences of exclusions in terms of their impact on school attainment and their association with absenteeism, and in the trajectories for young people post-exclusion and post-school. Our research attempts to fill some of these gaps, particularly in relation to quantifying the difference in the likelihood of being excluded according to your school and geographical area. This will ultimately reveal how implementation of policy and practice varies at different levels of governance.

What we found

Variation across school and council areas:

• In the academic year 2018/19, the probability of being excluded ranges from 0.5% to 6.2% (analysis not shown).

• Between 13% and 18% of the variation in exclusions in the academic years 2014/15 to 2018/19 is due to factors attributable exclusively to schools or council areas, and not to the pupils themselves.
• The amount of variation in exclusions across secondary schools and council areas is sizable and statistically significant (analysis not shown).

Factors associated with exclusions:

• The likelihood of being excluded from schools can vary significantly and substantially by individual characteristics.
• Young people at greatest risk of exclusion in secondary school are those who have also been excluded in primary school.
• Young people who are care-experienced, and pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at least once, are also at an elevated risk of exclusion. This provides evidence that exclusions have a socioeconomic component.

Why it matters

Our analyses reveal significant variation in exclusions across schools and local authorities in Scotland. While these differences are substantial, they are slightly lower than the variation across schools (12%) and local authorities (7.5%) reported in England.

It is important to note that assessing unadjusted exclusion rates, that is, not making like-for-like comparisons, may result in an unfair evaluation of schools and local authorities. This may mean either being too harsh, by ignoring that a larger percentage of pupils at a higher risk of exclusion attend a particular school, or too lenient, when ignoring that certain schools may have a lower number of pupils at-risk of exclusions. This is why understanding the factors affecting the likelihood of exclusion is so important. So far, the identified higher-risk groups for exclusions include male students, those who are care-experienced, those who come from deprived backgrounds, and those who were subject to exclusions during their primary school years.

Understanding the individual and structural factors associated with variation in exclusion is key for change in policy and practice. We have revealed very strong evidence that a relatively large portion of the probability of exclusions is beyond the control of the pupils themselves. This implies that comparable pupils can be more or less likely to be excluded, simply as a result of the differing policy or practices between different schools or education authorities.

There is also strong evidence that for some pupils, the onset of behavioural issues leading to exclusions occurs earlier in their primary school years. This could imply that these children and their families have needs that have gone unmet for a considerable time, which become exacerbated in secondary school. This can lead to disengagement and withdrawal from school and contribute to circumstances that later lead to wider adverse outcomes.

Read the research as an infographic

The below infographic by ADR Scotland summarises the school exclusions research.