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

A collective commitment to improvement

What this collective evidence shows is the standards of relationships and behaviour in our schools are not where we want them to be. While most children are well behaved most or all of the time, the evidence demonstrates that there is increased disruption in classrooms and increases in physical and verbal aggression. No child or young person, parent or carer, or member of staff should go to school, or their place of work, and be subject to violence or abuse.

It is important to recognise the complex picture underpinning the trends in behaviour. Since the last wave of BISSR was undertaken in 2016, our children and young people, and the adults in their lives, have faced unprecedented challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other pressures such as the impact of austerity and the cost-of living crisis, have impacted on all of our resilience. The number of pupils identified with additional support needs has increased markedly since 2010 and there continue to be year on year increases. In our schools, the impact can be seen in reduced rates of attendance, the relationships between children and young people and their peers, and with staff, and an increased disconnect between families and schools.

If we are to create the safe and consistent environments in our schools that will enable everyone to thrive, there needs to be a strengthening of relationships across our whole school community:

• Between children and young people and staff, to reinforce a culture of respectful relationships;
• Between schools and parents, based on a shared understanding of the reciprocal relationship in responding to needs and behaviour;
• Between local authorities and schools, national agencies and other statutory and third sector partners so there can be confidence in the response and support that will be available to deal with challenges; and
• Between the whole-school community and government with an understanding of the scale of the challenge and the collective role that all have to play in improving relationships and behaviour.

To reflect the importance of these relationships, this action plan has been developed by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) and is formally jointly owned by the Scottish Government and COSLA. SAGRABIS provides advice to local and national government on behaviour and relationships in schools, and its membership comprises stakeholders including the Scottish Government, COSLA, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, Education Scotland, the main teaching unions, and parents and carers representatives. All members of SAGRABIS share the ambition of improving relationships and behaviour in schools, and a collective commitment to act in support of the implementation of the plan.

For the action plan to be effective, there needs to be a whole-school and multi-agency approach to support delivery, underpinned by the Getting it Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) framework. Whilst the action plan is focussed on schools and school communities, it recognises and encompasses the role of local authorities, the Scottish Government, SAGRABIS, and wider stakeholders including children and young people, parents, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, communities, health and justice, and third-sector partners. The respective roles of organisations supporting this plan are set out in Annex A.