Redressing the School/Pupil Power Balance

[Chil1234]

School 'no touch' rules to be scrapped

Removing some of the paranoia surrounding the teacher/pupil relationship and giving teaching staff more confidence that they will be supported has to be a good thing.

tethersend said:

This illustrates the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. My son was restrained as a default option whenever he got upset, despite staff knowing it was the wrong approach. There was no proactive support for his disability to prevent him reaching the stage where he was beyond self control so his anger outbursts were increasingly inevitable. Had he had that support there would never be a need for restraint 'for his or other pupils' safety' as he'd never have become aggressive in the first place.

One one occasion two members of staff physically dragged him out from behind a toilet where he had hidden himself out of fear for what would happen if staff got hold of him. They grabbed him by the armpits and pulled him out kicking and screaming, then wondered why he lashed out at them. This was a disability issue, not a child refusing to cooperate because he was badly behaved. He was nine .

My concern is that there are teachers and other school staff who are inadequately trained in managing special needs who allow situations to get out of control. If random and untrained physical restraint is allowed (or even in some circumstances encouraged) more children like my son will be harmed and left with long term damage. Surely that can't be acceptable by anyone's standards.

Physical restraint should always be used as a last resort ad to keep people safe, not as a means of making a child co-operate or ensuring they follow instruction.

"My concern is that there are teachers and other school staff who are inadequately trained in managing special needs who allow situations to get out of control. If random and untrained physical restraint is allowed (or even in some circumstances encouraged) more children like my son will be harmed and left with long term damage. Surely that can't be acceptable by anyone's standards."

My concern exactly. Training in behaviour management is essential to avoid situations such as this; for both the students' and the teachers' sakes. Children with SEN, histories of abuse and emotional difficulties are particularly at risk. Teachers are leaving themselves open to physical injury and damaged relationships, even leaving aside the issue of legal action.

(I also think that you should be able to train as a SEN teacher, but that's a whole other argument)

I think the dangers of mishandling as tethersend has mentioned are huge; as are the safeguarding issues surrounding handling children. Example - one of the local schools introduces ties into the uniform; the uniform code is strictly adhered to but pupils who come in with their ties all huge and loose and tied in an unorthodox way are asked to tighten/straighten them. A teacher currently cannot do what teachers used to do in my old school - physically take the tie and straighten it out for the student: if they did this, there would be significant safeguarding issues (esp around girls and male teachers) and risks of accusations. I would not want to return to that possibility of teachers thinking it is okay to handle pupils, for their own safety as well as the student's.

I think the whole thing is a big shouty headline to distract from all the other appalling things the Tories are planning, and gives the illusion of empowering teachers, when they've mostly had the means to deal with pupils already.

The issue with suntan lotion is primarily a medication one, I would say, rather than a "no touching" one.