THE headteacher of a Dumfries secondary school has insisted that extra efforts are being made to reduce the high number of pupils being excluded from the classroom.
Joanne Dillon, who is in charge at Dumfries Academy, revealed how a pupil nurturing programme is in place at her high school and others in Nithsdale in a “proactive, rather than reactive” approach to youngsters being disruptive in class.
This comes after shock figures showed that there have been 124 exclusions at Nithsdale’s schools between April 2023 and March 2024.
This is a rate of 26.8 per 1,000 pupils – considerably higher than the national average of 16.6 per 1,000 pupils, and the regional average of 19.7.
At Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Nithsdale Area Committee last week, Lochar Councillor Linda Dorward described those stats as “fairly stark” and asked what is being done to combat this school exclusion problem.
Mrs Dillon attended the meeting, along with council officers, to provide a first-hand perspective to councillors.
She explained: “I can only speak for our own experiences, but the nurture principles are well established across secondary school settings, particularly in our school.
“We work with colleagues to put in place appropriate professional learning so that we can seek out alternatives to exclusion.
“Nurturing approaches are meant to be proactive, rather than reactive, and young people most at risk of missing out on education are targeted with those approaches so that we can ensure we seek alternative provision.
“Indeed, we keep a running total of exclusions, manage the monthly data, and we discuss young people who are at risk. We look to seek support from external agencies and partners to ensure we avoid exclusions where possible.
“Only really in extreme circumstances do we exclude a young person, and that would normally be for the health and safety of that child and maybe other staff and children who may be affected by a particular incident that needs a period of rest.”
Karen-Anne Bryden, quality improvement manager with Dumfries and Galloway Council, broke down the exclusions figures and told councillors that 29 exclusions were recorded in ten different primary schools (with 14 pupils excluded more than once), while 95 pupils took place across six secondary schools (with 31 pupils removed from school more than once).
She said: “We’re very much focused on the fact that the purpose of an exclusion is for a plan to be either created or amended for a young person to ensure that the supports are in place for them to be in a position to attend and access school in the best ways possible.”
The secondary schools in Nithsdale include Dumfries Academy, Dumfries High, North West Community Campus, Wallace Hall Academy, Sanquhar Academy, and St Joseph’s College.
