Reducing the number of school exclusions, particularly in secondary, is central to Renfrewshire’s Promoting Better Behaviour and Learning policy. One particularly successful model for in-house provision has been the Don Bosco unit at St Andrew’s Academy.

Within the unit’s first year, St Andrew’s saw a 50 per cent reduction in exclusions, a reduction rate which, according to headteacher Tony Quinn, the school has sustained over the unit’s three-year existence.

“Even with last year’s merger with St Mirin’s High, when it was expected that exclusions would go up, our rate actually fell by 50 per cent again. Our exclusion rate is 0.4 per cent compared to the national average of 0.7 per cent. Being the only Catholic secondary in Scotland’s largest town we have many pupils from areas of multi-deprivation,” he says.

The Don Bosco unit is patently not a “sin bin”. It is at the heart of the school both geographically and educationally. Housed next to the library and staffroom, it is a support for learning unit, as behavioural and learning difficulties often go hand in glove, and is part of a whole-school approach.

“Systems depend on staff choosing a common set of values about the preciousness of the children they teach,” says Mr Quinn.

“Some of the kids have terrible family backgrounds. They can’t be rejected. You must recognise their needs and not punt them out of school all the time because of patterns of misbehaviour. They need to be loved and cared for.”

At any one time, around 30 pupils are involved in the unit, to which they are extracted for one-to-one support with the intention of reintegrating them back into mainstream class. There are never more than six pupils together in the unit during class time. Most attend for only one or two subjects in which they are struggling, but they also learn anger management and social skills.

Support for learning is one of the biggest departments in the school. It employs 16 staff members, including full-time teachers, peripatetic teachers and classroom assistants.

“We didn’t want support for learning housed in a back room or presented in any way that can be negatively labelled. It’s high profile and at the heart of the school,” says Mr Quinn.

As an expression of the Catholic ethos, which Mr Quinn defines as “sharing and using your talents to the benefit of others”, the unit is named after the 19th century saint who worked with Italian street children. Don Bosco’s motto was “without affection there is no confidence; without confidence there is no education”, and the unit uses his “preventative system”, which pioneered the now commonplace idea that if young people are active then they are too involved to get into trouble.

Not only does the school operate lunchtime sport and support for learning clubs, but the unit itself also operates as a drop-in centre during lunchtimes.

Pupils of all ages may use it. The only rule is that they must respect each other.

“If a pupil is struggling or misbehaving in a mainstream class, the subject teacher negotiates with support for learning, with the aim of re-integration. It’s not a matter of the class teacher saying ‘we’ve got rid of that one’. We’re all involved,” says Mr Quinn.

Nor does the high profile given to support for learning imply St Andrew’s is a “sink school”.

“Forty-seven per cent of our pupils attained five credits at Standard grade last year against a national average of 33 per cent. Inclusion does not mean standards drop. We’re a comprehensive with exclusions going down and results going up,” he says.

When pupils are referred to the unit, parents are contacted by letter and then by phone and they receive weekly reports on how their child is doing.

“Parents are largely very positive,” says the head of support for learning, Mary Brown. “Pupils are given behaviour targets and rewarded sometimes with group outings for their success. It’s not about punishment exercises. It’s about making it a positive experience,” she says.

Support for learning teacher John Mullen says: “We give the pupils a sense of ownership of the unit and they feel quite proud of it. There’s no stigma attached.”

DON BOSCO UNIT S3 PUPIL JAMES

I enjoy it. I am getting help with English this year. I need help with nearly everything. I find it easier if things are read to me, but it can be embarrassing in a big class. It’s easier to read out in a wee class like here.

“I’ve got a part in the play we’re doing in the unit. I like to come here at break and lunchtimes and I have to come to show Mr Mullen my behaviour card. I got a praise certificate to take home.

“I can come here and play computers when I finish my work. It all stops me getting into trouble.”