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A TOTAL of 379 pupils were excluded from West Dunbartonshire schools last year.

In primaries across the local authority, 95 pupils were excluded, with 276 from the area’s five secondary schools. There were eight youngsters at special schools excluded.

The total figure has decreased since the previous year, when 551 pupils were excluded in 2016-17.

At a rate of 52.9 exclusions per 1,000 secondary pupils, West Dunbartonshire ranks sixth highest in Scotland, and the fifth highest for primary pupils.

Aberdeen City has the highest figure at a rate of almost one in 10 secondary pupils (105.8 per 1,000).

Reasons for exclusions included fighting – 1,564 pupils were excluded for this across the country.

Meanwhile, 4,633 were excluded for verbally abusing staff, 144 for fire-raising, 116 for spitting and 16 for indecent exposure.

Across the country, the rate of Scotland’s poorest pupils being suspended from school has dropped 60 per cent in the past 10 years.

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Since the current SNP-led Scottish government was elected in 2007, the total number of exclusions from schools has fallen from 39,717 in 2007-08 to 14,990 in 2018-19.

In the most recent year of reporting, just three pupils were permanently removed from school rolls, compared to 164 in 2007-08.

West Dunbartonshire Council had 1,519 exclusions in 2005-06, falling to 371 in 2014-15 before rising again to 551 in 2016-17.

A spokeswoman for WDC said: “We have a range of supports in place to support positive behaviour among our young people and assist them to attain and achieve in school.

“We use early intervention and work in partnership with parents and carers to address the individual needs of our pupils to increase attendance and reduce exclusions.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government welcomed the drop in exclusions amongst the poorest pupils.

He said: “We have been clear that schools and local authorities need to do all they can to ensure all children and young people are included, engaged and involved in their education – and that exclusion should be the last resort.

“These figures show that our preventative approaches, including good behaviour management and behaviour support, as well as restorative and nurture approaches, are working as part of our wider strategy to close the attainment gap.”