Gladstone Primary School

Gladstone Primary School

Use of Force, Restraint and Policy

Management of Actual or Potential Aggression

This policy applies to all pupils from Gladstone Primary School from EYFS to Year 6.

Purpose of this Policy

This policy deals with all situations where physical intervention, physical restraint may be used. These situations include, not only those pupils for whom risks have been assessed and protocols agreed for the use of restraint or physical intervention, but also those pupils whose behaviour is unforeseeable and unpredictable e.g. a pupil who for no anticipated reason displays behaviour which could endanger her/himself, a member of staff, other pupils or a visitor.

This policy will assist staff and parents to be aware of the type of situation where there may or may not be a requirement to intervene physically, and those situations where it is acceptable or unacceptable to physically restrain a pupil.

The ethos of our school is one of promoting positive behaviour, showing concern and care for all of our pupils. It is expected that we will always treat all of our pupils with dignity.

The use of Safe-holding should always be considered within the wider context of other behaviour management strategies. Most importantly it is essential that our staff establish and maintain good relationships with pupils and that they use diversion, diffusion and negotiation to respond to different situations. Please see our Behaviour Policy for information on a variety of differ strategies.

The 1997 Education Act clarifies that staff may use ‘reasonable force’ which is promotional to the context of the event: to prevent pupils from:

Committing a criminal offence
Injuring themselves or others
Significantly damaging property
Acting in a way that is counter to maintaining good order and discipline at the school.

The above does not just apply to the school premises but also when staff have ‘lawful control or charge of the pupil’ for example, during an Educational Visit.

There is no legal definition of ‘reasonable force’. Reasonable force can only be determined in the circumstances of the particular incident, the degree to which force employed is proportionate to the level of challenging behaviour, or the consequences it is intended to prevent.

Dfes/DH 2002 ‘Guidance on the use of restrictive physical interventions for staff working with children and adults who display extreme behaviour’ states that:

The use of force, should wherever possible be avoided.
There are occasions where the use of force is appropriate
When force is necessary, it must be used in ways that maintain the safety and dignity of all concerned.
Under no circumstances should force be threatened or used as a punishment.
Staff must seek to avoid doing anything that might reasonably be expected to cause injury or in touching or holding a pupil in a way that might be considered indecent.

The Importance of Teaching (White Paper 2010) reinforces the Education Act of 1997 by stating that:

‘Teachers have been given powers to use force or physical restraint where necessary. They should feel able to remove disruptive children from the classroom or indeed prevent them from leaving a room where that it necessary to maintain order’.

Gladstone Primary School has adopted the MAPA (Management of Actual and Potential Aggression) approach which promotes a gradual and graded response from least intrusive to more restrictive interventions. The school has several staff qualified in using this approach: Stephen Stanford, Daniel Egginton, David Bryan, Denise Richards, Jeni Dono, Sarah Sheppard, Carly Clowes, Melanie Hope. An annual programme of MAPA skills is followed for trained staff.

In extreme circumstances using more restrictive holds may be appropriate, but staff using such techniques must be MAPA trained.

Acceptable Physical Intervention

Staff who receive MAPA training are trained by staff who are BLLD approved from Watermill Special School. Although only those principles and interventions covered in the training are considered acceptable, each situation must be risk assessed accordingly, in order to maintain the safety of all involved.

Training on physical intervention given to staff includes sections on the background, theory and rationale behind the MAPA approach. Conflict resolution, de-escalation and other behaviour strategies are taught as part of the MAPA process.

Any physical interventions used take account of age, cultural background, gender, stature and medical history of the student involved.

The aim of our policy and practice is to reduce the number of safe-holdings that may be necessary.

In extreme cases individual risk assessments may be required and pupils should be assessed against their level of risk as to the likelihood of the need for safe-holding techniques to be used with them.

Recording and Reporting Incidents where MAPA Techniques are Used.

TheEvents Records must be completed following the use of any safe-hold. This paperwork is kept in the Deputy Headteachers Office. Staff are required to ‘log’ the incident using the MAPA Restraint Log. Parents must also be informed on the day of the incident using the ‘template parents letter’. The Headteacher should also be made aware of any incidents where the MAPA techniques have been used.

Reporting and Monitoring is of paramount importance for a number of reasons:

The protection of staff, pupils, in the event of allegations
It provides a record of the number/nature of incidents so patterns can quickly be seen, and strategies for improvement can be formed.
It provides a record of any injuries received by children or staff

Following the use of MAPA Level 3 hold, or hold in which a pupil or member of staff is injured, or an allegations is made, the following actions are required:

Complete physical intervention record, with an accompanying significant event record, body map diagram if injuries have occurred.
A first Aider must see the pupil. This must be recorded in the First Aid book
All staff injuries must be recorded in the First Aid Book.
All injuries must be reported to the Headteacher.

Event records and recordings of safe-hold data are analysed and audited termly and reported to the school governors. Any rise in recorded incidents will be regarded as a significant cause for concern and will be reviewed regularly during Senior Management Meetings.

Physical intervention is dependent upon professional risk assessment and should always be seen as a last resort, when attempting to prevent injury, significant property damage or the disruption to the learning of others.Other de-escalating techniques should always be applied to any potentially volatile situation.