More than 500 pupils excluded from Dumfries and Galloway Schools in last two years
dailyrecord.co.ukMore than 500 pupils have been excluded from schools across Dumfries and Galloway in the last two years. A Freedom of Information request has broken down causes for exclusion across the academic years ending in summer 2022 and 2023.
In total 552 pupils were excluded across the two years. Verbal abuse of staff was the biggest factor with 122 cases in 2022 rising to 143 this year.
In 2023, three schoolchildren were excluded for “malicious communications against staff”, seven for substance abuse not relating to alcohol and two for fire raising.
Andrew O’ Halloran, regional secretary of the teachers’ union EIS, said: “Sadly, violence and aggression have grown exponentially since the pandemic, which followed a lost decade underinvestment. “Worryingly, the problem is particularly acute in the primary sector. “The EIS has been engaging with Dumfries and Galloway Council to try to resolve some of the underlying issues but there is a fundamental need for better resourcing and staffing in education across the country. “Council officers must make this explicit to elected members.
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