Campaigners call for guidance on restraint of children with learning disabilities in schools

The Scottish government is being petitioned to compile guidelines following such incidences in school as “prone restraint, inappropriate wheelchair restraint and children being kept in seclusion”.

It has been claimed that such behaviour towards the children can be highly distressing and so campaigners are calling on the government to create an agency to monitor and assess the care vulnerable children with disabilities receive.

Ian Hood, coordinator of the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland (pictured), supporters of the petition, said as a result of no national standards existing “in some circumstances, bad practice has arisen and parents have little recourse to challenge teaching and other support staff.”

The petition comes amid police investigations into a Dundee school where eleven families have complained their children have been illegally restrained and physically abused.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “The council is cooperating fully with an ongoing police investigation and will be making no further comment until that has been completed.”

Dr Brodie Paterson, an expert in difficult behaviour and restraint at Crisis & Aggression Limitation & Management (CALM) has produced a draft guide for headteachers to assist them in making their own policies.

Dr Paterson, speaking to The Sunday Herald said responsibility for protecting vulnerable children’s right lies with the Scottish government.

He said: “Their failure to detail policy guidance means they’re not safeguarding the human rights of some really vulnerable kids.”

The lack of guidance has meant variable treatment of youngsters across the country, with complaints being made around the country.

The government withdrew a document entitled Safe and Well which supplied guidance on the treatment of children with disabilities and instead told local authorities to produce their own. Many took no action.

Dr Paterson added: “We have some local authorities that don’t have guidance, some that have not very good guidance, and some that have hands off policies.”

He said that “hands off” policies are not good for the children, that those with complex problems can endanger themselves and others and that in England and Wales the Department of Education guidance provides no school should adopt a “hands off” policy.

He said staff need to be trained in proper restraint or they may handle children unsafely.

A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: “Updated guidance on the use of physical restraint was published in 2013 and can be applied in all settings, including schools.”

The document prepared by the government, Holding Safety, is insufficient Dr Paterson said as it is written for children with emotional behavioural disorders, who differ from those with complex learning difficulties.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Physical restraint should only be used when absolutely necessary and when in the best interests of the child.

“The Scottish government is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Scotland’s children and young people and each local authority is responsible for the care, safety and welfare of pupils in school.”