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. New guidance on exclusion from school is currently being developed and will be published in 2010.
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. The receipt of data at pupil level enables data linkage with the annual September pupil census information to allow analysis of exclusion by pupil characteristics. All tables are footnoted accordingly if there are any considerations users of these data should note when interpreting these statistics i.e. data not available due to lack of recording.
8. Data are collected on appeals to local authorities against exclusions. However, as the number of successful appeals has been poorly recorded this information has again not been published this year.
9. In table 10, 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.
10. Reasons for exclusion categories distinguish between acts or threats against pupils and acts or threats against staff. As multiple reasons can be recorded per exclusion, it is possible to have both pupil and staff. Double counts of this nature have been taken out of the figures in table 17, making it comparable with 2007/08 data. A break-down on pupil and staff reasons for exclusions has been provided in table 18.
11. Statistics on type of motivation for incident leading to exclusion have not been provided as in over 90 per cent of exclusions, no motivation was recorded. It is however important that these motivations are recorded, as they are an indication to what extent racial, gang, alcohol related, homophobic and sectarian motivations, to name but a few, are behind the actual act or threat that led to exclusion.
Other information
12. All percentages and rates are rounded separately and breakdowns may consequently not sum to 100 per cent.
13. This report was edited by: Laura McConnell and Venetia Haynes.
14. 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.
15. All tables are available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00796
Symbols
16. 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
17. Public enquiries (non-media) about the information contained in this notice should be addressed to:
Pupil and School Statistics
Room 2-D South
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ.Telephone 0131 244 0314 or e-mail: school.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
18. Media enquiries about the information in this notice should be addressed to:
John Robertson: 0131 244 2530
Statistics Publication Notice
27 January, 2010