17th June 2025
New! The Scottish Government guidance to support positive relationships and behaviour in schools, Fostering a Positive, Inclusive and Safe School Environment, has now been published. Although the guidance recognises that most young people have positive experiences of school and manage their behaviour and responses well, this is the Scottish Government's response to concerns about behaviour. Read the guidance here. Most of the guidance sets out support-based approaches.
Connect's Executive Director, Gavin Yates, said:
'We welcome the general aims of the guidance and its recognition that overly punitive approaches only lead to disengagement that exacerbates inequalities, and negatively impacts wellbeing.
'It must be pointed out that guidance on its own does not provide any extra resources, training, specialist staff - including speech and language therapists and educational psychologists that are so desperately needed.
The recent report by the Scottish Assembly of Parents and Carers on additional support for learning made a number of key asks and these need to be delivered to really make an impact in our schools and communities.'