Excellence and equity for all - guidance on the presumption of mainstreaming: consultation analysis

Introduction

The consultation on the draft guidance, Excellence and Equity for All: Guidance on the Presumption of Mainstreaming ( https://consult.gov.scot/supporting-learners/presumption-of-mainstreaming/) ran from 2 November 2017 to 9 February 2018.

The guidance aims to bridge the gap between legislation, policy and day-to-day experience of decisions around placement, to ensure that local authorities have the guidance required to help their decision making in applying the presumption of mainstreaming. As the implementation of the presumption of mainstreaming requires a commitment to inclusive practice and approaches to be effective, the guidance clearly links inclusive practice with the presumption throughout and includes key features of inclusion and guidance on how to improve inclusive practice in schools.

The document contained 9 questions aimed at getting opinions on each part of the draft guidance.

The aim of the analysis report is to present the wide range of views offered. The responses were examined using a qualitative thematic approach and the key points from the analysis are summarised here.

Responses and respondents

A total of 362 written responses were received, 87 from organisations and 275 from individuals.

Organisational respondents came from the public, independent and third sectors and included local authorities, schools, national bodies, voluntary organisations, parent councils and unions amongst others. Many of the organisation responses had been informed by discussion and debate within and between organisations and their own stakeholder groups.

Individual respondents included parents, teachers, others working within the education sector and the public. However, identification of respondent type was only possible within a small proportion of responses, so an accurate breakdown of individuals' responses by respondent type is not possible.

Unless specified, when referring to 'responses' and 'respondents' we mean both organisational and individual responses and respondents. In areas where responses highlighted differences between organisational and individual responses this will be made clear.

While the majority of responses followed the format of the consultation questionnaire, a small number of respondents submitted non-standard responses (such as letters, emails or stand-alone documents) which did not directly address the consultation questions. However, where possible, themes were identified for inclusion in the analysis. Amongst those providing written submissions to the consultation, not all provided a response to each question.

The responses to the consultation have been published on the consultation hub https://consult.gov.scot/supporting-learners/presumption-of-mainstreaming/consultation/published_select_respondent. The published responses are those where the respondent has agreed to have their consultation response published.

Methodology

The aim of the analysis was to present the wide range of views offered. The responses were examined using a qualitative thematic approach and the key themes from the analysis are summarised in this report.

The analysis is focused on the volume and depth of the responses provided rather than the number of respondents. In other words, conclusions can only be drawn about the comments/information that respondents volunteered. If a respondent did not answer the question, or reference a particular topic, no conclusions can be drawn in regards to their opinions or stances on the issue discussed.

When discussing the prevalence of certain views, either amongst all respondents or within a certain subset, the following terms are used to indicate relative prevalence:

• 'Few' means between 5 and 9%
• 'Some' means between 10 and 19%
• 'Many' means between 20 and 49%
• 'Most' or 'majority' means between 50 and 74%
• 'Large majority' means between 75 and 89%
• 'Consensus' means 90% or over.

The structure of this report follows the 9 questions that were asked as part of the consultation on the draft guidance. The first 8 questions require a yes/no/don't know answer with the opportunity to provide comment and the last question allowed a free text response. The report provides number and percentage responses for respondents as a whole.