Exclusions from Schools 2008/09
NB.Tables 4, 6, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18 and chart 5 were revised on 4 th November 2010. Only the revisions to table 14 were significant and none of these revisions effected the headline message that there were 33,917 cases of exclusions reported in 2008/09.
This document contains analysis of the exclusions data for 2008/09. 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.
Main findings
- During 2008/09 there were 33,917 cases of exclusion from local authority schools in Scotland, a decrease of 15 per cent from 2007/08 ( 39,717 exclusions). Over 99 per cent of all exclusions were temporary. In 87 cases, pupils were removed from the register of the school (a decrease of 47 per cent from the 2007/08 figure of 164). The recent trend is towards excluding fewer pupils from the peak seen in 2006/07 (see chart 1):
Chart 1: Cases of exclusions by type, 2002/03 to 2008/09
(1) Data based on publicly-funded local authority schools only (does not include grant-aided schools)
- The rate of exclusion per 1,000 pupils in 2008/09 is 49.9 (down from 57.5 in 2007/08) (see table 2). These statistics allow for the differing school rolls in respective years and measure the number of cases of exclusions per 1,000 pupils.
- About 18,100 different pupils (three per cent of pupils) were excluded during the year (percentage unchanged on 2007/08) (see table 7).
Stage and gender
- The rate of exclusions follows a relatively similar pattern from year to year. The rates increase with the age of pupils and to a peak in S3 (157 exclusions per 1,000 pupils). There is also a clear step change as pupils move from the primary to secondary sector, and a substantial drop once pupils enter non-compulsory education in S5 and S6.
Chart 2: Cases of exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils by stage and gender, in 2008/09
- Overall, male pupils accounted for 78 per cent of exclusions, a decrease of one per cent from 2007/08 .The percentage has been stable at around 78 to 79 per cent since 2003/04.
Sector analysis
- There were 4,953 cases of exclusion from local authority primary schools, 15 per cent of the total, and equivalent to 13 exclusions per 1,000 pupils (see table 4). The number of cases of exclusion is a 12 per cent decrease from 5,616 in 2007/08.
- There were 27,704 cases of exclusions from local authority secondary schools, 82 per cent of the total, and equivalent to 91 exclusions per 1,000 pupils (see table 4). The number of cases of exclusion has decreased by 16 per cent from 32,905 in 2007/08.
- There were 1,260 exclusions from local authority special schools, three per cent of the total, and equivalent to 195 exclusions per 1,000 pupils (see table 4).
Timing, duration and frequency
- As in previous years, exclusion rates were highest either side of half term during the Christmas to Easter period (see chart 3). This year, the second week of March had the highest number of exclusions:
Chart 3: Cases of exclusion per week, 2007/08 and 2008/09
(1) Half Term is from week 10 (13/10/2008), Christmas is from week 20 (22/12/2008), Easter is from week 35 (06/04/2009).
- Ninety three per cent of all temporary exclusions lasted one week or less (see table 6).
- Of the 18,122 pupils temporarily excluded, 61 per cent were excluded on one occasion only during the year (60 per cent in 2007/08) and 18 per cent were excluded twice during the year (19 per cent in 2007/08) (see table 7).
Ethnicity, Deprivation, Additional Support Needs
- 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 (see table 10).
- Deprivation plays an important factor in the likelihood of exclusion. Rates of exclusions per 1,000 pupils are almost 8 times greater for pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas compared with pupils living in the 20% least deprived as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (see table 11).
- Similarly, for pupils who are looked after by the local authority, the rates of exclusions per 1,000 pupils are almost 9 times greater than pupils who are not looked after by the local authority (see table 12).
- Pupils with an Additional Support Need ( ASN) in mainstream schools have a higher rate of exclusion than those in mainstream schools without ASN. Pupils in special schools have a higher rate of exclusion than those with an ASN in primary schools but a lower rate than those with an ASN in secondary schools (see table 13).
- Where pupils have been assessed or declared as having a disability, the rate of exclusion was considerably higher than amongst other pupils (see table 15).
- Pupils with English as an additional language had considerably lower rates of exclusion than other pupils, with an exclusion rate of just over half of that amongst other pupils (see table 16).
Reasons for Exclusion
- Some of the most common reasons reported by local authorities for excluding pupils include:
- general or persistent disobedience (32.0 per cent in 2008/09, a 0.6 percentage point decrease on 32.6 per cent in 2007/08);
- verbal abuse of staff (26.7 per cent in 2008/09, a 0.4 percentage point increase on 26.3 per cent in 2007/08);
- physical assault with no weapon (17.0 per cent in 2008/09, a 2.0 percentage point increase on 15.0 per cent in 2007/08);
- insolent or offensive behaviour (16.7 per cent in 2008/09, a 0.2 percentage point decrease on 16.9 per cent in 2007/08).
Local Authority Analysis
- During the year 2008/09 the number of cases of exclusions across all local authority primary, secondary and special schools can be expressed as 49.9 cases per 1,000 pupils. This figure is useful as it takes account of changes in the pupil population between years. The latest figure is a significant drop from the 57.5 cases of exclusion per 1,000 pupils reported in 2007/08. Across Scotland the rates of exclusions vary significantly from 103 cases per 1,000 pupils in Dundee to only 10 cases per 1,000 pupils in East Renfrewshire. The link between deprivation and exclusion is clear and significant at an individual pupil and a more aggregated geographic level.
- 29 local authorities have seen a drop in cases of exclusion with 12 local authorities reporting a drop of more than 15 per cent. The most notable amongst these are: Moray (a 30 per cent decrease from 2007/08), North Ayrshire (27 per cent), South Ayrshire (26 per cent) and Glasgow City (24 per cent). We have verified the accuracy of these statistics with individual local authorities who confirm that changes in approach to the management of challenging behaviour has lead to significant reductions of cases of exclusion.