Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools minutes: November 2024

Attendees and apologies

Attendees

COSLA Spokesperson on Children and Young People (Chair)

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)

Association of Head Teachers and Deputes Scotland (AHDS)

Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP)

COSLA

Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)

Education Scotland

General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)

NASUWT

respectme

Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA)

UNISON

Support and Wellbeing Unit, Scottish Government (Secretariat) 

Apologies

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe)

Items and actions

Welcome, introductions and minutes from previous meeting

The chair welcomed attendees and noted apologies.

The minutes from the previous meeting, held on 10 September 2024, were issued for information.

A member asked that the minutes be amended to reflect that the Laura Lundy event had not been endorsed by SAGRABIS.

Subject to this change, the minutes were agreed and will be published on the Scottish Government website.

Action: SG to amend minutes and then publish on SG website.

Update on publication of relationships and behaviour action plan and mobile phone guidance.

Scottish Government provided an update on the actions of the Joint Action Plan since the last meeting on 10 September. These were:

• Amendments to the RAG categories were highlighted, as requested at the previous meeting.
• Further work will be done on assigning leads for each action before the next meeting.
• Key actions completed since the last meeting include the publication of Included, Engaged and Involved Part 3 – guidance on physical intervention and seclusion, and the updated national anti-bullying guidance Respect for All.
• Two areas in the plan that require attention are the progress on defining violence and the work on consequences, which were the focus for the rest of the meeting agenda.
• Risk assessment section will be highlighted in the next meeting.

Members highlighted that:

• The Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs (SEBN) Network may be able to assist with the risk assessment action and could serve as an expert group, given their familiarity with risk assessments and their development. The group is eager to offer support.
• Oy would be helpful for the activity tracker to be broken down further into priorities within each phase.  

Action: SG to amend the activity tracker to more clearly identify prioritisation of actions.

Development of a clear national definition of relationships and behaviour, including violence and aggression (Action 1) – initial considerations

The action plan contained an action to develop a clear national definition of relationships and behaviour, including violence, to be integrated within relevant national guidance.

A discussion paper had been circulated in advance of the meeting. Members were asked for feedback on this. Some points raised were:

• It may be helpful to involve the police in defining violence, particularly in terms of the language used. It was noted the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit was being invited to join SAGRABIS and may be able to assist.
• There was some concern expressed about whether defining violence would lead to a criminalisation of young people. It was noted that defining violence does not automatically link it to criminality or consequences,  but would be helpful in supporting recording and monitoring, and ensuring appropriate support was in place for staff and young people.
• It was agreed the Health and Safety Executive definition should be the starting point, but that it was helpful to include exemplification in a school context particularly given incidents may have a lack of intent. For example, it was noted that the highest figures of violence are from children in special school settings, nurseries, and P1.    
• Exemplification should include separating physical contact and verbal incidents into distinct categories.
• Some local authorities have their own definitions and approaches, which may be helpful to refer to when developing a national definition.
• The approach to violence should apply to all staff, recognising that school support staff are often disproportionately affected by violent behaviours and that incidents must be reported.
• Protections under the Employment Act 1996 emphasise the importance of completing risk assessments and taking all measures to protect staff, as well as ensuring clarity on the definition.
• It would be helpful to review the categories that are recorded under SEEMiS and whether these could be strengthened to allow for better record-keeping and a more accurate picture of violence in schools. It was noted that the action plan contained an action to review recording and monitoring processes and the timescales for this would be considered.

Action: Scottish Government to engage with Education Scotland and ADES about local approaches to defining violence to inform discussions at the next meeting.

Proposed consequences subgroup

A paper had been circulated proposing the establishment of a sub-group of SAGRABIS to take forward work on consequences. It was proposed this  would involve members of SAGRABIS and members of the headteachers taskforce; this is to ensure an appropriate blend of representative organisations and practical experiences within considerations.This approach was to ensure SAGRABIS retained sufficient oversight and involvement in this work.

Members agreed the proposal to establish the consequences sub-group. It was noted that the first meeting of the subgroup was arranged for 11 December 2024, with further meeting dates scheduled between January and March.   

SG asked SAGRABIS members to note their interest in this sub-group, but explained that in order to manage capacity, not all SAGRABIS members would be able to join. Reassurance was given that the subgroup will report to SAGRABIS in line with the governance arrangements set out, and therefore SAGRABIS will retain oversight of this work.

Next steps/AOB

The Chair noted correspondence from ASH Scotland regarding their Tobacco Free Schools Pack. This resource is available to schools, including through the PSE Toolkit for staff, and could be used in support of the actions in the plan relating to vaping.

The chair confirmed the meeting dates for next year’s meetings as:

• Tuesday 25 February, 2.30 – 4pm.
• Wednesday 28 May, 1 – 2.30pm
• Wednesday 24 September, 1 – 2.30pm
• Wednesday 3 December, 1 – 2.30pm

As a result of feedback from members, officials are also exploring the potential to hold an in-person SAGRABIS meeting. The group would be contacted about this in due course.

No other business was raised. The Chair closed the meeting.