Publication - Advice and guidance
Included, engaged and involved part 2: preventing and managing school exclusions
Part two of guidance document 'Included, Engaged and Involved', which refreshes the national policy on school exclusions.
Annex C - Checklists of Key considerations to be made prior to, during and after exclusion
The following checklists are intended as a useful tool to support schools and local authorities prior to, during, and after exclusion and should be adapted to fit local context. These checklists should be used together in order to ensure support is provided at the appropriate time to meet the wellbeing needs of children and young people.
Checklist 1a (this should be used alongside checklist 1b where appropriate) - Prior to an exclusion
| Key consideration questions | Consideration given | Comment |
| Has the child or young person been excluded before? What was impact of this? | ||
| Have the following been engaged to help prevent exclusion? Child or young person; Parents/carers; Key education staff; and Other professionals (e.g. Social work, Educational Psychologist). | ||
| Has there been clear assessment of the child or young person and their needs? | ||
| Have additional support/interventions been provided for the child or young person? | ||
| Have alternative arrangements been made for the child or young person prior to the exclusion? e.g. curriculum alternatives, temporary placement in base, use of virtual learning | ||
| How can the staged intervention process and school partnerships be utilised to further support this child or young person? | ||
| Has the incident that precipitated the consideration of exclusion been reviewed with all staff who were present to explore fully what happened? | ||
| Has another professional from within the school who is not directly involved, been consulted on the situation in order to provide a different perspective? | ||
| Has the child or young person been consulted on their views of the situation? | ||
| Has Pupil Support/Guidance/Key worker, or if available, has the lead professional been consulted on how to move forward? | ||
| Has the possible impact of exclusion on the child or young person been considered in light of individual circumstances? | ||
| Does the child or young person's recent presentation constitute a wellbeing concern? | ||
| What might the impact of an exclusion be on a child or young person's wider circumstances? | ||
| What impact might an exclusion have on the planning processes? | ||
| Has a risk assessment been completed for the child or young person where appropriate? | ||
| What are the hoped for outcomes of an exclusion? Are there other alternatives that might achieve this? | ||
| Has there been consideration given to length of exclusion to ensure it is proportionate and in best interests of child/young person? | ||
| Does the exclusion comply with the regulation 4 of the 1975 regulations as amended? | ||
| Have the rights of the child or young person been considered, with regard to articles of UNCRC? | ||
| Have all other options been considered before deciding on exclusion as a necessary step? |
Checklist 1b (to be used alongside checklist 1a if appropriate) - Individual circumstances
| Individual circumstance | Additional consideration | Consideration given | Comments |
| Looked After child | Social worker consulted prior to decision | ||
| Education manager or lead professional (where one exists) consulted on plan regarding particular issues | |||
| Appropriate arrangements made with regard to support/care and wellbeing at home | |||
| Decision made as to whether exclusion to go ahead | |||
| Child on Child Protection Register/child protection concerns previously raised | Child Protection Designated Officer and Social Worker consulted | ||
| SEEMiS checked for child protection message | |||
| Education authority consulted about appropriate provision | |||
| Appropriate arrangements for return into school considered | |||
| Child with additional support needs | Other professionals involved with child consulted on continuation of any additional input | ||
| Confirmation sought that child or young person is not being excluded for reasons associated with disability | |||
| Ensure that child or young person is not being excluded for reasons associated with a protected characteristic | |||
| Account is taken of impact of exclusion on child or young person's learning and support provision | |||
| Consideration is given to review of any Child's plan or Coordinated Support Plan | |||
| Transition planning is taken into account with regard to return to school | |||
| Children from an area of socioeconomic deprivation | Consideration should be given to the impact on child's wellbeing, e.g. free school meals |
Checklist 2 - Decision to exclude has been made (this checklist should be used after completion of Checklist 1a (and 1b where appropriate)
| Action to be taken | Action taken | Comment |
| Child or young person is informed he/she is to be excluded | ||
| Immediately inform parents/carers verbally | ||
| Looked after children and children or young people on Child Protection Register/child protection concerns - communication with all potential carers as well as any person who may have parental rights and responsibilities | ||
| Looked after children and children or young people on Child Protection Register/child protection concerns - decision communicated to lead professional, Social Worker, Key Worker, Foster Carer, Educational Psychologists and Head of Service | ||
| Make arrangements for child or young person to be sent or taken home. Child or young person not to leave school until safety, health and wellbeing assured and appropriate arrangements are in place | ||
| If parents/carers cannot be contacted child or young person must be supervised at school until suitable arrangements can be made | ||
| If verbal contact made, follow up by written confirmation of exclusion on same day exclusion takes place. Include reason for exclusion and information on Right of Appeal | ||
| Inform of date, time and place where Head Teacher or official of authority is available to discuss the exclusion | ||
| If child or young person is of legal capacity inform them in writing of exclusion and right of appeal | ||
| Record of exclusion filled out - incident report form | ||
| Ensure exclusion is recorded accurately on SEEMiS | ||
| All documents relating to exclusion to be retained in Pupil's Progress Record | ||
| Appropriate educational provision to be provided and monitored, e.g. course work, access to library, online learning | ||
| Arrangements for the child or young person to access any existing support made (outwith school if necessary) | ||
| A contact person should be allocated for parent/carer/young person to liaise with re. educational provision | ||
| Parent/carer should be informed of their responsibility to ensure child or young person is provided with appropriate education throughout the period of exclusion | ||
| Parent/carer should be provided with information on support to assist them or advocate on behalf of child or young person | ||
| Notify local authority | ||
| If exclusion is lengthy or multiple, refer to local authority for support in decision making | ||
| If parent/carer and/or child or young person exercise their right of appeal, meet with parent/carer and child or/young person and/or an advocate for the child to discuss | ||
| Referral to Scottish Children's Reporter if appropriate |
Checklist 3 - Return to school after exclusion
| Action to be taken | Action taken | Comment |
| School meet or discuss with parent/carer and child or young person - re-admission to school not dependant on this taking place | ||
| Appropriate planning takes place to ensure support is provided | ||
| Risk assessment is completed where appropriate | ||
| Needs of staff and other children and/or young people taken into account - solution oriented/restorative meeting held if appropriate | ||
| Flexible package of support agreed and implemented where appropriate | ||
| Any changes to timetable for limited period recorded on SEEMiS | ||
| Staged intervention processes continued and adapted in light of exclusion | ||
| Consideration given to discussion at multi-agency forum |
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| Pupil Support/Guidance/Key worker or lead professional (where one exists) updated | ||
| Monitoring and review arrangement put in place to ensure continued support |
Contact
Email: Douglas Forrester
Phone: 0300 244 4000 – Central Enquiry Unit
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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