Hansard

The Convener SNP

Item 3 on the agenda is a round-table discussion on the connection between school exclusions and offending. Alison McInnes suggested the topic back in Februa...

Jenny Marra Lab

I am a member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland and I am deputy convener of the committee.

Alan Staff (Apex Scotland)

I am the chief executive officer of Apex Scotland. My background is in child and adolescent psychiatry and addictions.

David McLetchie Con

I am an MSP for Lothian.

John Butcher (Association of Directors of Education in Scotland)

I am head of inclusion at Glasgow City Council and am representing ADES.

Roderick Campbell (North East Fife) (SNP) SNP

I am the MSP for North East Fife.

Vivienne Sutherland (Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists)

I am a depute principal educational psychologist in Fife and am representing the Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists.

Colin Keir (Edinburgh Western) (SNP) SNP

I am the MSP for Edinburgh Western.

Susan Quinn (Educational Institute of Scotland)

I am the president of the EIS.

John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Ind) Ind

I am a Highlands and Islands MSP.

Maggie Fallon (Education Scotland)

I am from the rights, support and wellbeing team in Education Scotland.

Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) SNP

I am the MSP for Glasgow Kelvin.

Nico Juetten (Office of Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People)

I work for Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People.

Colin Morrison (Pupil Inclusion Network Scotland)

I am from the pupil inclusion network.

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD) LD

I am an MSP for North East Scotland.

Jim Thewliss (School Leaders Scotland)

Good morning. In my day job, I am headteacher at Harris academy in Dundee. I am representing SLS.

Eileen Prior (Scottish Parent Teacher Council)

Hello. I am from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.

Graeme Pearson (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab

I am a member of the Scottish Parliament for South Scotland.

Professor Pamela Munn (Moray House School of Education)

I am from the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Susan McVie (Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime)

I, too, am from the University of Edinburgh.

The Convener SNP

I am the convener of the committee and the MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. I like saying that constituency name, as it is long.I will thr...

Alan Staff

We are getting it wrong.

The Convener SNP

There is controversy. Good.

Alan Staff

Absolutely.The majority of young people who are excluded have already begun an offending background. They already commit a range of minor offences. Excluding...

Susan Quinn

I do not think that we are particularly getting things wrong. Anybody in society would hope that we would never exclude any child, but there are multiple rea...

The Convener SNP

Can you expand on what you said about some support systems no longer being available?

Susan Quinn

Absolutely. For example, a colleague approached me a month ago about a difficulty in a secondary school. I asked what the behaviour policy was and she said t...

Professor Munn

I would not say that we are getting it right, but I think that we are getting it better. The vast majority of young people who are excluded from school are e...

John Butcher

In many ways, I agree with Professor Munn. I think that we are getting it right and I do not agree that we are getting it wrong. We are on the road to gettin...

Jim Thewliss

In my previous life I was a geography teacher and I am married to a history teacher, so I am used to challenging and difficult questions from history teacher...