PE2051, which was lodged by Dianne Youngson, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to establish a consistent and transparent reporting mechanism for incidents affecting the health of pupils in schools; review and improve on the existing guidelines for schools in dealing with at-risk pupils; place in law monitoring of reporting mechanisms, with ultimate responsibility being placed with Scottish ministers and local authorities; and reform the exclusions procedure to include consideration of whether exclusions may cause further harm.
We last considered the petition on 21 February and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. We were keen to receive a timeline for the development and publication of the joint action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools, and information about how the Scottish Government expects its call for accurate recording of incidents in schools to be achieved.
The joint action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools has now been published and covers the period from 2024 until 2027. The cabinet secretary highlighted the Government’s review of the national anti-bullying guidance. She noted in particular that a sub-group was established to identify and consider changes to the supplementary guidance on recording and monitoring.
The submission notes that Education Scotland plans to publish a toolkit of good practice on recording and responding to bullying incidents.
In the light of the cabinet secretary’s response following the publication of the plan for 2024 to 2027, do colleagues have any suggestions for action?