Stag Lane Middle School

Stag Lane Junior School

Positive Intervention Policy

Article 3: All organisations which are involved with children should do what is best for the child.

Article 19: Every child has the right to be safe.

STAG LANE JUNIOR SCHOOL POLICY ON THE USE OF FORCE TO CONTROL OR RESTRAIN PUPILS

INTRODUCTION

Every child has the right to be safe. Article 19.

This policy is based on guidance issued to support section 93 Education and Inspections Act 2006 which clarify the position regarding the use of physical force by teachers and other staff working in schools, to control or restrain pupils.

Relationship to other policies

This policy sits alongside the SEN Policy and the Behaviour Policy.

What does it mean to restrain a child?

Physical restraint is the positive application of force with the intention of protecting the child from harming himself or others or seriously damaging property. The proper use of physical restraint requires skill and judgement, as well as knowledge of non-harmful methods of restraining.

Physical Restraint should be limited to emergency situations and used only in the last resort. Under the Children (NI) Order 1995, it is only permissible as described under the heading "Physical Control".

Article 4 of the Education (N.I.) Order 1998 clarifies powers that already exist in common law.

This policy is updated to reflect current non statutory advice from the Department of Education on the ‘Use of Reasonable Force - Advice for Head Teachers, Staff and Governing Bodies’.

This advice replaces “The use of force to control and restrain pupils– Guidance for schools in England” and the current guidance relates to the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

What is reasonable force?

(i) The term ‘reasonable force’ covers the broad range of actions used by most teachers at some point in their career that involve a degree of physical contact with pupils.

(ii) Force is usually used either to control or restrain. This can range from guiding a pupil to safety by the arm through to more extreme circumstances such as breaking up a fight or where a pupil needs to be restrained to prevent violence or injury.

(iii) ‘Reasonable in the circumstances’ means using no more force than is needed.

(iv) As mentioned above, schools generally use force to control pupils and to restrain them. Control means either passive physical contact, such as standing between pupils or blocking a pupil's path, or active physical contact such as leading a pupil by the arm out of a classroom.

(v) Restraint means to hold back physically or to bring a pupil under control. It is typically used in more extreme circumstances, for example when two pupils are fighting and refuse to separate without physical intervention.

(vi) School staff should always try to avoid acting in a way that might cause injury, but in extreme cases it may not always be possible to avoid injuring the pupil.

Who can use reasonable force?

(i) All members of school staff have a legal power to use reasonable force.

(ii) This power applies to any member of staff at the school. It can also apply to people whom the head teacher has temporarily put in charge of pupils such as unpaid volunteers or parents accompanying students on a school organised visit.

When can reasonable force be used?

(i) Reasonable force can be used to prevent pupils from hurting themselves or others, from damaging property, or from causing disorder.

(ii) In a school, force is used for two main purposes – to control pupils or to restrain them.

(iii) The decision on whether or not to physically intervene is down to the professional judgement of the staff member concerned and should always depend on the individual circumstances.

(iv) The following list is not exhaustive but provides some examples of situations where reasonable force can and cannot be used.

Schools can use reasonable force to: (Appendix One)

Ø  remove disruptive children from the classroom where they have refused to follow an instruction to do so;

Ø  prevent a pupil behaving in a way that disrupts a school event or a school trip or visit;

Ø  prevent a pupil leaving the classroom where allowing the pupil to leave would risk their safety or lead to behaviour that disrupts the behaviour of others;

Ø  prevent a pupil from attacking a member of staff or another pupil, or to stop a fight in the playground; and

Ø  restrain a pupil at risk of harming themselves through physical outbursts.

Schools cannot:

Ø  use force as a punishment – it is always unlawful to use force as a punishment.

Power to search pupils without consent:

In addition to the general power to use reasonable force described above, head teachers and authorised staff can use such force as is reasonable given the circumstances to conduct a search for the following “prohibited items”:

Ø  knives and weapons

Ø  alcohol

Ø  illegal drugs

Ø  stolen items

Ø  tobacco and cigarette papers

Ø  fireworks

Ø  pornographic images

Ø  any article that has been or is likely to be used to commit an offence, cause personal injury or damage to property.

At Stag Lane Junior School we believe that the use of reasonable force is only necessary to

prevent a pupil from:

Ø  Committing a criminal offence

Ø  Injuring themselves or others

Ø  Causing damage to property, including their own

Ø  Prejudicing the maintenance of good order and discipline at the school or among any pupils receiving education at the school, whether during a teaching session or otherwise (sec 93 EIA DCSF 2006)

Why use restraint?

Physical restraint should avert danger by preventing or deflecting a child’s action or perhaps by removing a physical object, which could be used to harm him/herself or others. Physical restraint skilfully applied may be eased by degrees as the child calms down in response to the physical contact. It is only likely to be needed if a child appears to be unable to exercise self-control of emotions and behaviour.

General aims:

The staff at Stag Lane Junior School recognise that the use of reasonable force is only one of the strategies available to secure pupil safety/well-being and also to maintain good order and discipline.

Our policy on the use of reasonable force is part of our overall pastoral care policy and closely related to our policies on managing pupil behaviour in the Behaviour Policy and Special Educational Needs Policy.

The aims:

Ø  All adults have a duty of care to all children and we aim to protect every person in the school community from harm.

Ø  To protect all pupils against any form of physical intervention which is unnecessary, inappropriate, excessive or harmful.

Ø  To provide adequate information and training for staff so that they are clear as to what constitutes appropriate behaviour and to deal effectively with violent or potentially violent situations.

Ø  To give full support to staff who have been assaulted or have suffered verbal abuse from pupils or others.

Risk Assessment:

Although most pupils at Stag Lane Junior School will never require any form of physical restraint, staff may have to deal with some young people who exhibit disturbed, distressed and distressing behaviour. It is therefore necessary to carry out risk assessments on those pupils.

There is a duty of care under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999, to assess the levels of risk to pupils and staff. Assessing and managing risk is central to planning intervention strategies and embedding them within more general behaviour policies and strategies.

We will attempt to reduce risk by managing:

Ø  The environment

Ø  Body language

Ø  The way we talk

Ø  The way we act

Environmental Risk Assessment:

We will complete a risk analysis within the school and put in place strategies to minimise these risks in identified locations.

Individual Risk Assessment:

If we become aware that a pupil is likely to behave in a disruptive way that may require the use of reasonable force, it is our intention to plan how to respond if the situation arises. Such planning needs to address:

Ø  Managing the pupil (e.g. reactive strategies to de-escalate a conflict, holds to be used if necessary).

Ø  Involving the parents to ensure that they are clear about the specific action the school might need to take and we will ask for their agreement. We will also invite a representative from the Local Authority to discuss with parents/carers what physical interventions may be used.

Ø  Briefing staff to ensure they know exactly what action they should be taking (this may identify a need for training or guidance);

Ø  Ensuring that additional support can be summoned if appropriate.

Ø  All staff have a responsibility to ensure that they have read and understood individual pupils Risk Assessments. These are kept on Teachers Only – Staff Room-Inclusion-Risk Assessments.

It is important that all staff read these Risk Assessments as each one is different for each child and provides guidance on managing the children if there are difficulties.

Procedures:

In the event of physical intervention having been used it is important to consider the strategies, which are deemed acceptable, and the recording procedures that should be in place.

Action to be taken: (Appendix Two)

Ø  Be aware of pupils who have been physically restrained before and what happened.

Ø  Give a calm warning or instruction to stop should be given and every effort should be made to achieve a satisfactory outcome without physical intervention.

Ø  Send for adult help early if things begin to get out of hand and restraint seems likely.

Ø  Send for a member of staff (or members of staff) who have had ‘CALM’ training – (Crisis, Aggression, Limitation and Management).

Ø  Tell the pupil who is misbehaving to stop and state possible consequences of failure to do so

Ø  Assess the situation before acting.

Ø  Stay calm – do not over-react. A calm and measured approach to a situation is needed and staff should never give the impression that they have lost their temper or are acting out of anger or frustration when handling a problem.

Ø  Continue to communicate with the pupil throughout the incident

Ø  Make it clear that restraint will be removed as soon as it ceases to be necessary

Ø  Use minimum restraint for minimum time until the situation is calm.

Ø  Report the incident to the Associate Head teacher or senior member of staff as soon as possible and complete a report form.

Ø  Remember your professional obligations to all pupils in your care.

DO NOT....

Ø  Place yourself at risk : do not attempt to restrain a pupil who obviously carries a

“weapon”.

Appropriate follow-up action should be taken, which may include:

Ø  Providing medical support

Ø  Providing respite for those involved

Ø  Parents/carers should be contacted as soon as possible and the incident explained to them. This action should also be recorded. It may be necessary for it to be followed up by other disciplinary action or pastoral support.

What happens if a pupil complains when force is used on them?

1) All complaints about the use of force should be thoroughly, speedily and appropriately investigated.

2) Where a member of staff has acted within the law – that is, they have used reasonable force in order to prevent injury, damage to property or disorder – this will provide a defence to any criminal prosecution or other civil or public law action.

3) When a complaint is made the onus is on the person making the complaint to prove that his/her allegations are true – it is not for the member of staff to show that he/she has acted reasonably.

4) Suspension must not be an automatic response when a member of staff has been accused of using excessive force. Schools should refer to the “Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Teachers and Other Staff” guidance (see Associated Resources section below) where an allegation of using excessive force is made against a teacher. This guidance makes clear that a person must not be suspended automatically, or without careful thought.

5) Schools must consider carefully whether the circumstances of the case warrant a person being suspended until the allegation is resolved or whether alternative arrangements are more appropriate.

6) If a decision is taken to suspend a teacher, the school should ensure that the teacher has access to a named contact who can provide support.

7) Governing bodies should always consider whether a teacher has acted within the law when reaching a decision on whether or not to take disciplinary action against the teacher.

8) As employers, schools and local authorities have a duty of care towards their employees. It is important that schools provide appropriate pastoral care to any member of staff who is subject to a formal allegation following a use of force incident.

What about other physical contact with pupils?

It is not illegal to touch a pupil. There are occasions when physical contact, other than reasonable force, with a pupil is proper and necessary.

Examples of where touching a pupil might be proper or necessary:

Ø  Holding the hand of the child at the front/back of the line when going to assembly or when walking together around the school;

Ø  When comforting a distressed pupil;

Ø  When a pupil is being congratulated or praised;

Ø  To demonstrate how to use a musical instrument;

Ø  To demonstrate exercises or techniques during PE lessons or sports coaching; and

Ø  To give first aid.

Recording:

Staff should record all incidents of restraint in accordance with School Policy and report these to the Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher. A Physical Intervention Report Form (Appendix three) must be completed. This is available from the Inclusion Leader. It should be sent to the following within five days of the incident:

Paulette Lewis (Education Welfare Service)

Details should include: