The pandemic that gripped Scotland continues to cast a long shadow, not least in classrooms across Scotland. Behaviour changes and the testimony of teachers and schools have led the Scottish Government to hold a series of summits focused on behaviour. The next summit is today, which takes place during Care Experienced Week. This overlap is an important reminder, if one were needed, that whilst the ongoing recovery from the impact of the pandemic and cost of living crisis will affect all pupils, it will not necessarily impact them all equally.

Care-experienced pupils in Scotland’s schools already face barriers in education and these are reflected in statistics on attainment, attendance and staying in school beyond S4 compared to their non-care-experienced peers. Exclusion rates are particularly high, with care-experienced young people around six times more likely to be excluded than other young people.

Amidst the understandable concerns about behaviour in schools, there is a risk that measures such as exclusions become a knee-jerk policy and practice response. This would be a mistake. Exclusions can exacerbate existing trauma, and are linked to poor attainment and non-attendance. The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime identified school exclusion, in particular, as one of the strongest predictors of future offending. The Scottish Government’s guidance is already clear on the detrimental impact exclusion has, and states it must be used as a last resort. The Independent Care Review goes further and states that formal and informal exclusions for care-experienced students must end.

Adverse behaviour in schools - including violent behaviour - does not exist in isolation. Excluding pupils does not address the root causes of behaviour, nor does it consider the long-term impact this will have on both the individuals involved, or the system that may need to support them in the future.

These are not issues that teachers, or their colleagues in schools, can address on their own. The promise made in the Independent Care Review cannot be kept in Scotland’s schools - or indeed any setting - by asking people to pour from an empty cup. Trauma-informed practice and restorative approaches cannot be implemented without adequate space and capacity. Alternative arrangements to exclusion need to be fully resourced. Preventative approaches have to be bolstered by effective and holistic whole family support, and structural interventions to address child poverty.

None of this is easy and will take time to deliver. The Scottish Government summits are a critical opportunity for leadership to be shown across the system. The Promise is clear about the central importance of the universal right to education for children and young people. Schools are the bedrock of communities across Scotland, and communities are at their strongest when children and young people thrive. Scotland must work towards ending the exclusions as part of a concerted effort to give each and every child in our schools the support that they need.

Fraser McKinlay, Chief Executive of The Promise Scotland