‘Ungoverned’ use of restraint and seclusion in Scottish schools criticised

The “ungoverned” and potentially illegal use of restraint and seclusion is taking place across Scotland’s schools, according to the country’s children and young people’s commissioner.

The commissioner’s report, seen exclusively by the Guardian, reveals thousands of largely unmonitored incidents, glaring inconsistencies in policy between local authorities and significant concerns that the techniques are being used disproportionately on children with disabilities and additional support needs.

Challenging the Scottish government to turn its rhetoric on human rights into action, the commissioner, Bruce Adamson, called for all schools without adequate policies to stop using restraint and seclusion “as a matter of urgency” until national guidelines and standards were put in place.

Adamson told the Guardian: “We are deeply concerned that significant physical interventions may be taking place without any kind of policy or procedure at local authority level to ensure the lawful and rights-compliant treatment of children.

“We don’t have confidence in how many incidents of restraint and seclusion are taking place, which children are most affected or how they are being dealt with. We are also concerned that the Scottish government hasn’t done enough to provide clear direction to local authorities to make sure we have a consistent reporting across the country.”

The report – the first to use the office’s formal powers of investigation, and taking in all state primary and secondary schools in Scotland – was prompted by dozens of inquiries from parents and carers of children with disabilities and other additional support needs, raising concerns about the use of these techniques as a method of behaviour management.

The investigation uncovered a chaotic picture across the country. Four out of 32 local authorities do not have policies on restraint and seclusion. Aberdeen city council presented no policy documents but reported that 60 techniques had been used to physically intervene with children.

The investigation found a lack of consistent standards to define restraint and seclusion among those authorities that did provide policies, with only 18 stating that restraint should be used as a last resort when a child was in danger of harming themselves or others. Only 12 local authorities said children and young people’s rights and views had been taken into account when reviewing their guidelines.

For the purposes of the report, restraint was defined as “holding a child or young person to restrict their movement”, and seclusion as “the confinement of a child, without their consent, by shutting them alone in a room or other area which they are prevented from leaving”. This was distinct from a “time out”, defined as a behavioural intervention used as part of a structured support plan that did not necessarily involve being physically removed to a separate place.

The investigation found that the recording of incidents was similarly erratic: only 18 authorities were able to provide data, despite others claiming they recorded all incidents. These 18 authorities reported 2,674 incidents between them over the 2017-18 school year. Only 13 authorities recorded the number of children who were the subject of interventions, which came to 386 in total.

Adamson said restraint should be used only as an “absolute last resort”. He said: “We need to make sure that adults have the training to make sure they can support children, particularly those that need additional support, and not resort to restraint techniques. That rights-based approach is really missing and we need to send a message very clearly in terms of restraint.”

The Scottish government and local authorities have until mid-January to respond in writing to the report’s recommendations, which include that the government should draft a rights-based national policy and guidance on restraint and seclusion in schools, involving children and young people in its development.

The report also calls for standardised recording across local authorities; the release of that data as part of the Scottish government’s official statistics; and for the use of restraint and seclusion to be included in school inspections.

Adamson said: “One of the really positive things in Scotland is that we have a government that talks about human rights positively, and that is different, but one of the things we have to do is turn that rhetoric into real action and change for children and young people.”

Case study: ‘My son was traumatised’

Sharon Gardner’s son Fraser is an articulate 10-year-old who likes Nintendo Switch, Star Wars and the Beano, and who has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Gardner removed Fraser from mainstream schooling two years ago after she discovered that her son was being kept in a locked room with no external windows, with no access to toilet facilities, for hours at a time.

“He was terrified of this room and became more and more anxious about going to school. Teachers explained to me that it was a room for him to calm down, but I would find that he had wet himself, and on one occasion found a teacher holding the door shut while he screamed to be let out,” she says.

Only later did Fraser explain to his mother that he would often be physically restrained by two staff members and carried through the open-plan school in front of other pupils before being placed in the room. “I phoned the police because this was obviously assault, but they refused to do anything about it,” Gardner says.

Her initial complaint to Aberdeenshire council was rejected. She filed a subject access request and received what she believes to be an incomplete record of restraint incidents involving her son. She was later given what she describes as a “half-hearted apology” from the council’s education department.

When Gardner described Fraser’s experiences online, she was flooded with replies from other parents across the country. “It’s been really frustrating, and devastating actually, that no one professional seemed to care. My child has been abused by professionals and nobody has said sorry. As far as I know, these people are still working with children. My son was extremely traumatised by their treatment, while other children in the school also had to witness it.”

Gardner is hopeful that the children’s commissioner’s report will prompt government action. “I want the government to say that this is wrong, that schools must report every incident, and say what they have done to avoid using it. Restraint and seclusion are a sign of failure of the school to meet children’s needs.”

Meanwhile, Fraser remains terrified of schools. “I can’t even say the word to him now. He’s much happier being home-schooled, it means that I can tailor things to his needs and he’s not getting punished for his disability, but I would like to have the choice.”