Data published today (15 March) confirms that Scotland has recorded the lowest number of school exclusions in a year since current records began in 2002-03, as Tes Scotland reported in December.
However, today’s statistics also show big variations around the country, with pupils considerably more likely to be excluded in certain parts of Scotland.
The highest number of exclusions per 1,000 pupils is 23.7 in Eilean Siar (the Western Isles), the only local authority where the rate has gone up (from (11.9) since national figures were last recorded in 2018-19.
However, given the wide range of size of local authorities in Scotland, some councils such as Eilean Siar are far smaller than others and therefore more likely to see big swings in their exclusions statistics.
The four councils with the next highest exclusion rates - all of which are considerably larger in population than Eilean Siar - are: Renfrewshire (20.9 exclusions per 1,000 pupils); West Dunbartonshire (17.9); West Lothian (17.4); and Aberdeen (17.2).
No exclusion rate is recorded for Clackmannanshire and Orkney, two more of Scotland’s smallest local authorities, because the number of exclusions is so small there that, as a matter of policy, no data is published.
The five lowest exclusion rates that are published are in these local authorities: East Renfrewshire (1.2 exclusions per 1,000 pupils); Scottish Borders (4.5); Shetland (4.6); Glasgow (6.5); and East Dunbartonshire (6.8).
There were 8,323 exclusions in 2020-21, including 8,322 temporary exclusions and just one recorded as “removed from the register” - in other words, permanently excluded.
The high point for exclusions came with the 44,794 recorded in 2006-07 (44,546 temporary exclusions and 248 removals from the register).
The previous low point came in the last full school year unaffected by the Covid pandemic: in 2018-19 there were 14,990 exclusions (14,987 temporary exclusions and three removals from the register).
There is no data for 2019-20 as these figures on school exclusions are now being collected every two years.
The data published today by the Scottish government can be viewed here.
