Education and skills - National Improvement Framework 2025: improvement plan

Outcome 6

Outcome 6 - improving relationships and behaviour, and attendance, with increased engagement in learning and a culture of dignity and respect for all.

What the evidence is telling us – relationships and behaviour within a culture of dignity and respect

The Behaviour in Scottish Schools: Research report 2023 (BISSR) is the latest^[11] in time series research established in 2006 and reporting the views of support staff, teachers, headteachers, and local authority staff on pupils’ relationships and behaviour in schools. The research published in 2023 also contained a range of specific questions about the impact of COVID-19. The research found that whilst the majority of staff in 2023 still perceive that all or most pupils are generally well-behaved around the school and in the classroom, there has been a general worsening of pupil behaviour since 2016 with primary and secondary staff having experienced decreases in most positive behaviours and increases in most of the low level disruptive, disengagement and serious disruptive behaviours around the school.

In line with the broader picture, most staff reported that behaviour is worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions began, both in the classroom (77%) and around the school (80%). School staff considered COVID-19 to have had a negative impact on behaviour, particularly for those pupils whose transition - either between early years and primary or primary and secondary - was disrupted.

School staff viewed these pupils as showing immaturity, leading to low level disruption. COVID-19 was seen to have resulted in delays to pupils’ social and communication skills, leading to disruptive behaviour related to sharing, playing together and communicating their feelings in primaries, and interpersonal relationships and group work in secondaries.

Additional impacts of COVID-19 included disengagement with school and schoolwork, reduction in attendance for some pupils, anxiety and poorer mental wellbeing and greater reliance on mobile phones and social media. The most negative impacts of COVID-19 were considered to be felt by the most vulnerable pupils; those affected by poverty, deprivation and trauma.

What the evidence is telling us - anti-racism in education

Both formal data and lived experience continue to demonstrate that minority ethnic children, young people, teachers and school staff do not have a pro-actively anti-racist experience of school and early years settings. Data from SEEMIS captures racism and racist incidents in schools, and our annual Diversity in the Teaching Profession data report highlights the chronic under representation of minority ethnic teachers at all levels, and particularly in promoted posts. Recent work carried out on Learning Directorate’s behalf by Intercultural Youth Scotland and Show Racism the Red Card, captures young people’s individual experiences of racism, whether that be racist incidents perpetrated by other pupils or not seeing ethnic minority groups and individuals accurately represented in the curriculum. Anecdotally, teachers and educators continue to request resources to support them in addressing topics such as racism and religious bigotry and to address and prevent racist incidents in schools, and to improve their racial literacy and be better equipped to deliver an anti-racist curriculum and to navigate challenging conversations with confidence.

What the evidence is telling us – gender equality

Both formal data and lived experience continue to demonstrate that girls and young women do not have a gender equal experience of education aged 3-18. Reports commissioned by the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning in 2022, carried out by the Children's Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament provide a snapshot of this. The Behaviour in Scottish schools: research report 2023 highlighted misogyny in schools as an emerging theme of the research.

The problem is not limited to girls and young women. Female teachers and school staff report being subjected to sexist behaviour, sexual assault and harassment by male pupils as reported in the EIS survey on pupil behaviour and the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research.

Misogynistic behaviour in schools has wider impacts than sexual harassment. It has a hugely undermining impact on girls and young women which can be very pervasive and not always obvious until we see it emerging in, for example, areas such as subject choice. We know that for some girls and young women they will make the decision not to pursue subjects which have traditionally attracted boys and young men, resulting in fewer young women engaging with sectors such as STEM as a career choice. Girls regularly outperform boys when it comes to exams, however, this does not translate in to working life, with only 70% of women in Scotland in employment compared to 78% of men, not to mention the long standing gender pay gap which remains at about 15%.

What the evidence is telling us - attendance

There is a system-wide concern about reduced levels of attendance, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023/24 the Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2024 confirmed that attendance nationally overall was 90.3%. This is a small increase from 90.2% in 2022/23. Prior to this, from 2010/11 pupils' rate of attendance was relatively stable, increasing from 93.1% to 93.7% in 2014/15. This was followed by consecutive decreases, with the largest drop from 92.0% in 2020/21 down to 90.2% in 2022/23. Sickness without education provision was the biggest reason for absence, although the rate decreased from the previous year, from 5.0% of all openings in 2022/23 to 4.8% in 2023/24. The rate of persistent absence (pupils who were absent 10% or more of all half days) decreased from 32.5% in 2022/23 to 31.4% in 2023/24 but remains substantially higher than the pre-COVID-19 level of around 20%.

What we will do to deliver – relationships and behaviour

• The findings from the Behaviour in Scottish Schools research have informed the Joint Action Plan on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, published in August 2024 and which sets out the strategic actions to address concerns in relation to relationships and behaviour in schools, and attendance and engagement. Work on relationships and behaviour is set in the context of school ethos and culture, which includes dignity and respect within its foundation. This three year plan is available from Ensuring Safe and Consistent Environments in Schools – Joint Action Plan - Relationships and behaviour in schools: national action plan 2024 to 2027 and reflects the work of partners within the Scottish Advisory Group for Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, and other partners in order to deliver the actions within the plan.
• A number of the actions in the first implementation phase of the Joint Action Plan support increased engagement, dignity and respect.
• We have published guidance on mobile phone use in schools, this aims to support schools to reduce the negative impact of distraction through mobile phone use and increase engagement in learning.
• We have also published a refreshed national approach to anti-bullying, Respect for All, which supports schools to prevent and respond to bullying behaviours, including those arising from prejudice.
• We have published new guidance on Gender-Based Violence in Schools, responding to concerns of increased experiences of misogyny in schools and new guidance on the appropriate and safe use of physical intervention in schools.
• Education Scotland will implement and promote the ‘Inclusion, Wellbeing, Equalities’ professional learning framework, to support educators to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people who require additional support
• HMIE will have an increased focus on discussing and commenting on attendance, relationships and behaviour during ELC and school inspections.

What we will do to deliver – anti-racism in education

• We will progress the actions set out in the Anti-Racism in Education Programme, this includes:
  • delivering cohorts 7 and 8 of Education Scotland’s Building Racial Literacy Programme in 2025-26 (this is contingent on approx. £50k funding per annum from the budget available to support the AREP).
  • delivering year 1 of Education Scotland’s Anti-Racist Mentors project in 2025-26, building on the pilot undertaken in 2024-25 (also contingent on funding of approx. £50k per annum from the same budget).
  • working with ADES and local authorities to implement our recently published guidance for employers of teachers to support the recruitment retention and promotion of ethnic minority staff.
  • promoting our principes for an anti-racist curriculum, which provide schools with a framework for decolonising the curriculum and supporting them to understand what that means in practice.
  • developing and publishing a Whole School Approach to prevent and respond to racism and racist incidents (planned for 2025).
  • publishing the new Anti-Racist Commitment for Education Leaders, which will support leaders at all levels in the education sector, embed a range anti-racist approaches in their setting (planned for early 2025).

What we will do to deliver – gender equality

Having spent some time in 2024 re-establishing its remit and how it will go forward, the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning will:

• provide focused stakeholder groups to take a strategic view of emerging and existing education policy ambitions, and apply a gendered lens to both the high level ambitions and detailed actions within them.
• provide strategic oversight in order to embed gender equality across the education policy landscape, resulting in:
  • policy coherence across the education landscape, including but not limited to: the implementation of the Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Action Plan; Equally Safe at School; Education Scotland’s wider Equalities Work ; STEM subject choice, Mentors in Violence Prevention, LGBTI Inclusion work and the commitment from the now concluded Gender Pay Gap Action Plan to work with the Scottish Council of Deans of Education to consider how gender equality can be made more prominent within Initial Teacher Education;
  • more readily identifiable levers to tackle gender inequality.
• identify where gaps exist and where work requires to be undertaken to address those, wherever possible in the form of task and finish groups, the membership of which can be drawn from stakeholders with intersecting interests.

What we will do to deliver – attendance

• Education Scotland will work with partners, local authorities, practitioners, parents, learners, CLD and Third Sector to design and deliver support to improve attendance and engagement including:
  • evidence-based professional learning
  • increased use of robust data to inform improvement
  • practical strategies for implementation that strengthen culture, systems and practice
  • exemplification of approaches and practice that are having an impact
  • ongoing opportunities for stakeholders to co-design support, share learning and maximise impact
• This work is in addition to each local authority’s stretch aims established as part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.
• As part of the commitments in the relationships and behaviour action plan, we will review and update our national guidance on attendance - Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1.
• We will run a national marketing campaign to help support improving attendance and reducing absence.

What we will do to deliver – parental engagement.

• The Scottish Assembly for Parents and Carers (SAPC) was launched in September 2024, establishing a broader, more representative model to support engagement from parents and carers. To ensure meaningful engagement, the Assembly will adopt various methods of engagement with its membership such as surveys, in person-meetings and events and online webinars to accommodate all members’ interests effectively.

How we will measure progress – relationships and behaviour within a culture of dignity and respect

The progress in implementing the joint Action Plan on Relationships and Behaviour will be published annually, with the first report due in Spring 2025. This will include contributions to delivery across all partners, including member of the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, including Education Scotland

It is expected that local authorities will record and monitor all incidents in schools, including those which are related to bullying and behaviour and violence.

In addition to local monitoring and review of data, national level data will be available via the next iteration of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research. Data will also be available on the experiences of bullying via the findings of the Health Behaviour in School Age Children Study. The Health Behaviour in School Age Children Study also reports children and young people’s experiences of school, including feelings of acceptance, trust and caring from teachers and their experiences of enjoying being with their classmates, felt accepted by them, and if they were kind and helpful.

We will commission an independent review of the gender based violence in schools framework before the end of this parliamentary term.

There will be annual progress reports on the implementation of the Joint Action Plan on relationships and behaviour.

The sixth wave of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research will be carried out in 2026.

We will use the following methods to track the progression of the Scottish Government programmes of work: UNCRC, Anti-Racism in Education, LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation, Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning, Equally Safe Delivery Plan, Mentors in Violence Prevention and Hate Crime Strategy:

• Professional learning uptake and feedback.
• Website statistics
• Collaboration with stakeholders.

How we will measure progress - an anti-racist experience of early years and school education for all

Future evaluation of the Building Racial Literacy Programme (First evaluation carried out in March 2024) and the Anti-Racist Peer Mentors Pilot.

Our annual Diversity in the Teaching Profession data report will reflect any increase in the number of minority ethnic teachers in Scotland’s schools, and therefore any progress being made towards meeting the 2030 target to do the same. This data is drawn directly from local authorities and we will develop measures to establish whether any increases are attributable to the implementation of our new Action Guide.

It is expected that local authorities and schools will interrogate SEEMIS data to monitor reporting of racist incidents.

Annual reporting from leaders in the education sector on the way in which they are implementing the new Anti-Racist commitment.

How we will measure progress – gender equality

Interrogation of future BISSR reports to establish whether misogynistic behaviours in schools have decreased.

Interrogation of future SCQF results to establish whether the number of girls choosing and achieving in subjects traditionally dominated by boys has increased.

In the longer term, assessing whether there is an increased uptake in STEM careers by young women, along with assessing whether they remain there.

How we will measure progress - attendance

National Statistics on Attendance and Absence published annually, containing data on local authority attendance and absence rates. This includes data on persistent absence.

This is in addition to local authorities own management information on attendance and absence which is available on an ongoing basis.

How we will measure progress – parental engagement

We welcomed the results of the first SAPC survey in December 2024, focusing on parents’ and carers’ understanding and awareness of the Education (Scotland) Bill and the establishment of Qualifications Scotland and His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland. There were 211 respondents from 30 different local authority areas who participated in this survey. Their next survey on parental involvement in children’s education will be published in January 2025.

In the coming months, the Assembly will conduct further surveys, online meetings, in person meetings and outreach on a variety of topics of interest, with at least two more policy areas brought forward by March 2025.