Relationships and behaviour in schools: national action plan 2024 to 2027

Theme 5: Reducing violence and significant disruptive behaviour in schools

Action 15: Identify supports for schools for situations where children and young people are not responsive to authoritative approaches and consequences.

Action 16: Support schools' development of clear protocols for both preventing and responding to violent incidents and incidents involving a weapon, including risk assessments, relevant to age and stage of child or young person

Action 17: Develop evidence-based on factors underlying violence, and develop teaching resources to support children and young people.

Key deliverables (how the actions will be supported and implemented)

During phase 1:

• Provide national advice and resources on risk assessment in schools.
• Publish guidance on a relationship and rights-based approach to physical intervention in Scottish schools, to ensure schools have the most up-to-date human rights-based advice on reducing distressed behaviour and minimising the use of restraint.
• Refresh school resources on violence and weapons.
• Work with national professional associations to identify the range of approaches and services that can be offered to support relationships and behaviour, at a school and local authority level. This will include both Educational Psychology Services, based on their five core functions of consultation, assessment, intervention, training, and research and policy development, and with Speech and Language Therapy Services.
• Implementation of the actions for violence prevention and harm reduction, specifically targeting the effects of social media on violence (delivered as part of Violence Prevention Framework).