The government has released final new guidance on the use reasonable force in schools, but has not committed to creating national training standards despite “strong calls” for it.
The Department for Education said it had “noted” calls for national training standards, and is “considering developing and delivering additional targeted policy interventions”.
The department has been approached to clarify what this means, but has not responded.
All school staff “have the legal power to use reasonable force in limited circumstances”, including physical restraint and seclusion.
The Department for Education has now issued fresh guidance on how schools should use these interventions. It will come into effect in April, replacing existing guidance in place since 2013.
Strong calls for training standards
A consultation on the plans has revealed “strong calls for mandatory training standards”, said the DfE.
Current reasonable force guidance states schools must make their own decisions about staff training, and whether any staff require more.
Under the updated guidance, going live in April, training decisions remain with schools.
It states staff “who are likely to need to use reasonable force” should be “adequately trained in its safe and lawful use, and in preventative strategies”.
“We trust school leaders to make decisions on training based on their school’s individual contexts and needs,” it adds.
Almost a third (32 per cent) of those who responded to the consultation said they disagreed or strongly disagreed with this approach.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recommended that the government develops national training standards in 2021, following an inquiry into the use of restraint in schools.
It said this should “take a human rights approach, minimise the use of restraint, [be] tailored by school phase and type and involve schools, parents and children.”
Government ‘notes’ calls
The human rights watchdog repeated this call in its response to the recent consultation.
“Many respondents commented that physical intervention should be a last resort, and poorly designed training could inadvertently increase restraint use,” said the DfE in its consultation response.
Respondents called for “scenario-based learning with real-world examples” and said training “should cover how to use reasonable force, alongside de-escalation techniques”.
“There was strong support for mandatory national training standards, regularly updated and tailored to different school roles, while allowing flexibility for local adaptation.
The DfE says it has “noted” these calls for national standards, practical examples and de-escalation techniques.
“We are considering developing and delivering additional targeted policy interventions during phase two of our policy programme.”
‘Clearer definition’ of seclusion
Following the consultation, the government has also updated its guidance to give a “clear definition” of seclusion, and a dedicated section to help schools “better understand this form of restrictive intervention”.
The term isolation is often used to describe both “seclusion” and “removal”, but the two are different.
Survey respondents said they felt the distinction between “seclusion” and “removal” was previously unclear, with “vague” definitions risking inconsistent applications.
Of the 559 respondents, 83 per cent said further advice was needed on when the use of seclusion is appropriate.
The new guidelines define seclusion as “a non-disciplinary intervention involving keeping a pupil confined to a place away from others, and preventing them from leaving either by physical obstruction, blocking, or making them believe they will be punished if they try to leave.”
Seclusion is not meant to be used to deal with misbehaviour.
The DfE has also clarified definitions for other key terms, including “reasonable force” and “restrictive intervention”.
Requirement to report ‘significant incidents’
Following the consultation, the DfE is also pressing ahead with a new legal requirement for schools to record “record every significant incident of use of force and report these incidents to the parents of the pupils involved”.
The new guidance defines “significant incident” as one where the use of force “goes beyond appropriate physical contact between pupils and staff”.
Following the consultation, the DfE has added further details regarding the reporting.
It says incidents “must be recorded as soon as practicable after the event”. This should be done by the staff involved, who should “endeavour to do this no later than the same day”.
Separate legislation will require schools to record their use of seclusion and report it to parents.
The new guidance was supposed to come into effect in September, but was delayed by the decision to legislate on recording and reporting seclusion.
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