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PE1548: National Guidance on Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

Petition summary

Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to

1. Introduce National Guidance on the use of restraint and seclusion in all schools; this guidance should support the principles of:

Last resort - where it is deemed necessary, restraint should be the minimum required to deal with the agreed risk, for the minimum amount of time;
Appropriate supervision of the child at all times, including during “time out” or seclusion;
Reducing the use of solitary exclusion and limiting the time it is used for (e.g. maximum time limits);
No use of restraints that are cruel, humiliating, painful and unnecessary or not in line with trained techniques;
Accountability of teaching and support staff for their actions; this should include recording every incident leading to the use of seclusion or restraint and monitoring of this by the local authority;
Regular training for staff in how to avoid the use of restraint;
Where restraint is unavoidable training in appropriate restraint techniques by British Institute of Learning Disability accredited providers and no use of restraint by untrained staff.

2. Appoint a specific agency (either Education Scotland or possibly the Care Inspectorate) to monitor the support and care given in non-educational areas including the evaluation of the use of restraint and seclusion of children with special needs in local authority, voluntary sector or private special schools.

Petitioner: Mrs Beth Morrison

Status: Closed

Date published: 06 January 2015

Click here for the full petition

This petition has been referred to the Education, Children and Young People Committee.

SPICe Briefing

Committee Meetings

17 March 2015: The Public Petitions Committee took evidence from Beth Morrison, Ian Hood, Learning Disability Alliance Scotland and Kate Sanger, the Challenging Behaviour Foundation. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government, the Care Inspectorate, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, ENABLE Scotland, the Scottish Children's Services Coalition, the Educational Institute for Scotland, COSLA, Children 1st and the Ministerial Working Group on Child Protection and Disability.

Official Report of Meeting 17 March 2015

26 May 2015: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Official Report of Meeting 26 May 2015

22 September 2015: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.

Official Report of Meeting 22 September 2015

1 December 2015: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to defer consideration of the petition until the new year.

Official Report of Meeting 1 December 2015

9 February 2016: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.

Official Report of Meeting 9 February 2016

8 March 2016: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to include the petition in its legacy paper for consideration by the Session 5 Public Petitions Committee. In doing so, the Committee agreed to write to the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland.

Official Report of Meeting 8 March 2016

27 October 2016: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.

Official Report of Meeting 27 October 2016

19 January 2017: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to seek an update from the Scottish Government on publication and use of the ‘communication passport’ and the ‘toolkit’ for practitioners, and to invite the Deputy First Minister to provide oral evidence at a future meeting.

Official Report of Meeting 19 January 2017

20 April 2017: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to reflect on the evidence from the Deputy First Minister and to consider a note by the clerk at a future meeting.

Official Report of Meeting 20 April 2017

11 May 2017: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.

Official Report of Meeting 11 May 2017

21 September 2017: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Deputy First Minister.

Official Report of Meeting 21 September 2017

22 March 2018: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Deputy First Minister and the UK Government.

Official Report of Meeting 22 March 2018

24 May 2018: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to write to the UK Government and the Deputy First Minister.

Official Report of Meeting 24 May 2018

27 June 2019: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to invite the petitioner to respond to the Deputy First Minister’s submission and to invite the Children’s Commissioner to give evidence at a future meeting.

Official Report of Meeting 27 June 2019

7 November 2019: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to reflect on the evidence heard at a future meeting. It also agreed to invite the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education to give evidence at a future meeting.

Official Report of Meeting 7 November 2019

19 December 2019: The Public Petitions Committee agreed to refer the petition to the Education and Skills Committee under Rule 15.6.2 of Standing Orders.

Official Report of Meeting 19 December 2019

Written Submissions

Read any written submissions received by the Public Petitions Committee before May 2021 on our old site

11 November 2020: The Education and Skills Committee agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills for an update.

Official Report of Meeting 11 November 2020

Written Submissions

Read any written submissions received by the Education and Skills Committee before May 2021 on our old site

Committee Meeting

26 October 2022:The Committee considered the petition and at that meeting the Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that national guidance has now been developed to minimise the use of physical intervention and seclusion in Scottish schools and the petition has achieved its key aim.

Official Report of Meeting 26 October 2022 (, ) posted 01 November 2022