Included, engaged and involved part 2 working group minutes: January 2026

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government
• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA)
• Glasgow University
• Association of Scottish Principle Educational Psychologists (ASPEP)
• Includem
• National Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs Network (SEBN)
• Association of Headteachers and Deputes Scotland (AHDS)
• The Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection/ VHTN (CELCIS)
• Education Scotland - CLD

Apologies

• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR)
• Education Scotland - Schools
• Association of Directors of Education Scotland (ADES)
• Connect
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The chair welcomed members and noted apologies. Members confirmed that they were content to approve the minutes from the previous meeting of the group in November.

Action: SG to publish minutes on SG website.

Draft of Included, engaged and involved part 2

A draft of the revised guidance was circulated in advance of the meeting for consideration, which reflected suggestions made at the previous meeting on structure and approach, and updated information on considerations prior to exclusion.  Points raised by members included:

Section 3: Prevention Strategies and Alternatives to Exclusion

• consideration should be given to decisions on exclusion reflecting the potential impact on the wider school community as well as the potential harmful effect of exclusion on the pupil 
• further distinction could be made between prevention and alternatives to exclusion
• it may be helpful to provide example approaches 
• there was a need for clear guidance on ‘informal exclusion’ with appropriate links to the forthcoming updated attendance guidance 
• the language around different forms of assessment and planning should be considered
• the guidance should reflect the importance of engagement with parents and other services
• it may be helpful to highlight different considerations for one-off exclusions and recurring exclusions
• a number of alternatives to exclusion were suggested for inclusion
• the guidance should discuss the importance of successful re-inclusion following exclusion

Section 4: Considerations Prior to Exclusion, Annex 2 and Checklists

• checklists of considerations to be made prior to an exclusion would be helpful to include in the guidance - the guidance should highlight local decision-making processes may be in place prior to an exclusion 
• the decision to exclude requires balance between the needs of the individual and needs of rest of school community, in line with statutory frameworks
• the overlap between exclusion guidance and other relationships and behaviour guidance was discussed with a suggestion that some of information in guidance could sit elsewhere
• there was discussion of the structure of the guidance, with suggestions of changes that could be made to ease flow of the guidance

Considerations for drafting of section 5 - Management of an Exclusion

The chair highlighted to members that the next section of guidance for consideration will be section 5 which will focus on the management of an exclusion. Members were asked to highlight key areas for review. Some points raised included:

• it was suggested that guidance on the length of an exclusion should be in section 4 rather than 5
• guidance on referral to the reporter was discussed– exclusion from school may not be reason for referral in itself, but referral may be linked to behaviour

Next steps

Action: Guidance to be redrafted in response to feedback from members and circulated in advance of the next meeting of the group.
Action: Next meeting to be scheduled for week beginning 23rd February.