Agenda item

Report by Interim Service Director, Children & Young People.  (Copy attached.)

INCLUSION FRAMEWORK

2.1       There had been circulated copies of a report by the Interim Service Director, Children and Young People which proposed that the Inclusion Framework contained in Appendix I to the report and the Inclusion Policy contained at Appendix 2 to the report both reflected and aligned with National guidance and Legislation to provide a clear strategic direction on inclusive practice for all schools and Early Years settings in Scottish Borders Council.  The Inclusion Framework replaced the previous policy and the Inclusion Policy was a revised and updated version of the draft presented to the Executive Committee in June 2018.  In line with National Legislation and Guidance, recent documents had been published by Scottish Government (Education Scotland) to provide further guidance to Local Authorities and their policy making and outlined Scotland’s vision and underlying principles of inclusion.  Scottish Borders Council had a clear commitment to ensure children and young people were ‘in sight, in our minds, in our actions and were being heard as part of the Council’s vision to raise attainment and achievement for all learners whilst ensuring full participation and inclusion.  The Inclusion Framework and Policy, along with other associated documents, had been designed to provide learning establishments within Scottish Borders Council a clear framework to build on the developing inclusive culture.

2.2       Caroline Didcock, Quality Improvement Officer, Education was present and explained that the Inclusion Framework sat within a suite of frameworks, all of which were informed by research and strategies known to be successful in pursuit of the overarching aim of raising attainment. They formed part of the Council’s strategy to raise attainment for all ‘Achieving Excellence in Learning #playyourpart’.  The Inclusion Framework, and its associated documents, detailed the action required by all to ensure the ongoing development of inclusive practices in all learning establishments within Scottish Borders Council.   Councillor Greenwell, Equalities Champion, addressed the meeting, welcoming the Inclusion Framework which had taken a while to come forward due to the work involved.  He made reference to the charity, Meeting of Minds, which he had co-founded and which was a parent-led support group for children with complex/additional needs, giving parents and care givers the opportunity to connect with key professionals.  The Chief Education Officer, Ms Michelle Strong, acknowledged that the Framework had been a long time coming, which had been partly due to the national position, but it had been important to ensure the policy was robust and included a commitment to the training programme.  Families were key in supporting young people and there was an ongoing piece of work to enhance parent involvement. 

2.3       In terms of consultation with the 3^rd sector, the Chairman sought clarification and was advised that there had not been direct contact with the 3^rd sector although they had had the opportunity to comment through the Schools.  It was envisaged that the document would be on display within schools in poster format, with explanations for parents specific to their school.  Members welcomed the very clear, although complex report and associated documents which was a significant policy and the need to get it out to parents and pupils.  A meeting would be held in February with the Chairs of Parent Councils.  Members referred to attacks against staff which had doubled in recent years and sought information on how these were being managed.  Ms Strong confirmed that attacks against staff were taken very seriously and that a new recording system had been introduced which allowed more accessibility to all staff rather than requiring manager input, tracked the incidents within the school and was monitored daily.  This partly explained the rise in reported incidents.  Each incident was individually scrutinised, triggers identified and provision adjusted.  Mr Davidson, Parent Representative, requested that consideration be given to re-instating Special Needs Assistants.  Ms Strong explained that nationally it had been recognised that education needs were changing and the Council was due to receive £310k from Scottish Government in additional funding to be spent working with schools with higher numbers of special needs pupils to develop strategies.  It was not just about staff numbers but the environment and the young person’s specific need.  In terms of equality of opportunity for all within schools, Members questioned whether this applied to everything and where additional funding was to be found.  It was explained that many schools recognised that families were struggling financially and there were a lot of innovative projects running i.e. clothing swap shops for uniforms; Cinderella Projects to allow pupils to borrow or hire evening dresses.  Inspire Learning allowed a level playing field for all pupils and homework could be done when it suited the pupils i.e. in school at lunchtime or after school and there was pupil equity funding to help pupils engage and many schools held very successful fund raising events to enhance the school fund.  In response to a question about punitive actions, it was explained that these did not work and that Team Teach Levels 1 and 2 were being rolled out.  All teachers completed Level 1, which was about how to de-escalate situations, with Level 2 for more complex issues.  Getting pupils to understand the consequences of actions worked better which was the approach being used.  There followed discussion about circumstances for pupils being excluded, anti-bullying and the refresh of positive relationships document.  Ms Strong confirmed that exclusion numbers across Scotland had fallen significantly in the last few years and work was ongoing to look at the needs of the young person and how the school could work to find a way to plan together to support that individual.  The aim was to have an environment where all could learn and thrive. 

DECISION

AGREED to approve the final drafts of the Inclusion Framework (Appendix1) and Inclusion Policy (Appendix 2) and confirm these would be circulated to all learning establishments in the Scottish Borders.