Included, engaged and involved part 2 guidance refresh working group minutes: November 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government (chair)
• Education Scotland 
• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Includem
• Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA)
• Glasgow University
• Association of Scottish Principle Educational Psychologists (ASPEP)
• The Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS)
• Connect

Apologies

• Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR)
• Virtual School Headteacher Network (VSHT)
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Association of Directors of Education Scotland (ADES)
• National Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs Network (SEBN)
• Association of Headteachers and Deputes Scotland (AHDS)
• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The chair welcomed and introduced members and noted apologies. 

Minutes and actions from previous meeting

Minutes from the previous meeting of the group on 7 October had been circulated in advance of the meeting and members confirmed that they were content to approve the minutes.

Action: SG to publish minutes on SG website.

Section 2: Purpose, Guiding Principles, Policy Context, Who is it for?

The chair highlighted to members that the draft of section 2 of the guidance had been updated in response to previous comments. Members suggested that tracking changes on future edits may be helpful. It was noted that feedback on the guiding principles had been provided and that this will be revisited at a later date. Some key points raised by the group included:

• it was suggested that distinction could be made between school-based supports and supports from other agencies
• it was suggested that the guidance may also be relevant to external provision and that local authorities may need to monitor exclusions in alternative or independent provision in certain circumstances
• there should be a focus on the purpose of exclusions to provide planned support and effective transition back to school
• it would be helpful to provide further guidance around ‘informal’ exclusions
• it was important that the guidance was consistent with the forthcoming revised attendance guidance

Action: Members to provide any further comments on section 2 via correspondence by 16 December.

Presentation of analysis of attendance and exclusions by additional support needs (ASN)

Glasgow University provided a short presentation on their analysis of the rates of attendance and exclusion by additional support needs characteristics. The chair thanked Glasgow University for the presentation and noted this would be helpful for the group’s considerations. 

Section 3: Prevention Strategies and Alternatives to Exclusion

A draft of section 3 of the guidance was circulated in advance of the meeting for consideration by members. Feedback included:

• alternatives to exclusion used in practice include targeted support, peer support forums, positive behaviour support plans and staged intervention or multi agency support
• the guidance should include a focus on how individualised and targeted support planning could be used both proactively and reactively to support children at risk of exclusion
• some of the group supported the use of case studies but suggested amendments to the structure and content of these
• the group highlighted areas where the case studies could be further aligned with other Scottish Government guidance

Action points: 

• further comments on section 3 and any relevant research or considerations for section 4 to be made via correspondence by 16 December
• SG to update prevention strategies in response to feedback from members and circulate updated draft in advance of the next meeting of the group
• SG to schedule the next meeting of the group for the week beginning 12 January 2026

AOB

No other business was raised.