Restraint at School for ASD child

[SimonF23]

My son was restrained at School earlier this week as his behaviour was getting out of control. I am not in agreement with it but believe it could have been necessary. My issue is that he has visible injury on the backs of his arms just at the back of his arm pits which look like his clothing has been so tight on his skin it has caused blood to come to the surface. I need advice on whether I can take it further in the form of a complaint? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance

Yes you can take it further of course you can
contact the school and make an appointment to see the head as soon as you can. Hopefully the incident has been recorded as it should have been. A proper explanation can be given.

if you’re unsatisfied with what is said contact the schools Governors

lots of advice on the council websites about safeguarding children

restraint should be the very last result and down only when a child is a danger and should only be done by people trained in those situations- usually senior management team and those grades

Definitely discuss it with the Head

Initially it is reasonable to be given a written report of the incident. So what triggered the restraint, what de-escalation techniques were tried and failed, which type of restraint was used, how many people, what training they had and the duration of the retraint whether anyone was swapped in.

That might help you decide whst to do next.

I cant quite picture the bruising but it doesnt initially sound like the restraint went well.

yes you definitely want to know whether the person who restrained was trained in safe holds

Ask to see cctv footage of the incident, if it exists.
Ask

• How long was de-escalation employed and what strategies were used?

-Who restrained and when were they trained. -Has school got written reports from witnesses - students and staff? Were these written immediately or later. -When was incident reported to the Head? -Is the school carrying out an investigation into why restraint was used? -What happened to your child after restraint - were you called to collect him or sis he return to lessons. -What welfare checks were made on him after the incident.

We have personal support plans for students who we may need to use a 'hold' with and these are agreed and signed by both parents and the headteacher. The focus of the plan is preventing any hold being needed (although this of course is not always possible). Have you had a meeting to talk about what the schools strategies are to prevent this from happening again and to go through what happened.

Hi, how awful.

1. the restraint should be recorded and you should be given a copy of the report.
2. take photographs and document yourself.
3. ask for the school restraint/ positive handling policy.
4. was thd person sho restrained your don trained? How did they restrain him? What techniques did they use?
5. your son should not be hurt by restraint, they dhould be using the least amount of force they can or none at all (if they can remove over children/dzngers)
6. yes, make a complaint.
7. if your son doesn't have an ehcp this is evidence that his needs are not being met in the current setting.
8. report to the LA also (safeguarding).
9. consider a change of setting.
10. how is your son?
11. does he have a behaviour plan in place?
12. what happened prior to the restraint? What happened earlier in the day or the lead up? What strategies did they use? I take it they know he has asd?

These weren't in order, I'm angry for you and your son. This is not right at all but sadly happens alot.

He was held on the floor with his head/neck at a right angle against a sofa and we don't know if the people restraining him were advanced team teach or not, We've never seen any positive handling plan or anything like that. He has just returned from a pupil referral unit and is struggling with his return to mainstream. The school are very defensive when it comes to the release of information of this type, we are worried about his safety at this point.

Justrealised is spot on with everything she says.

If you're on Facebook have a look at SHAME UK also you could submit a SAR to the school to find out the details and if anything has happened previously.

That sounds dangerous. How is he doing now

How old is your son, is he able to tell you what was going on?

The school have really dragged their heels and has only just had his EHCP sent off by the school after 4 years of attendance. They are very aware of his challenges but don't seem very well equipped. He was kicking things etc but not hurting anyone and was also being loud verbally. He is also being assessed for ADD and has asthma requiring inhalers. He told the teachers he wanted to speak to his mum and go home but they refused both. Thank you for the responses everyone 😊

Get some legal help ASAP (the facebook group ive detailed will be able to direct you), do take photo's.

I'm so sorry, how is your son?

You could see if you could get a Dr's letter to keep him off (you may get better advice from SHAME). If he has an ehcp call and emergency review.

Does he have any other agencies involved; camhs, ot, slt, paed? If so speak to them- show them the injuries. This isn't right.

He obviously needs more and better support than he's getting. You could also try ipsea or sossen about schools and ehcp.

The school have really dragged their heels and has only just had his EHCP sent off by the school after 4 years of attendance.
Is this at primary so he's 9? Or secondary and he's 14?

He is ok thank you 🙏

He is 8. He has shown us what happened and told us who was holding him. He understands it was his behaviour that caused the situation, he just said they were hurting him but they wouldn't get off him.

If he was kicking things then he could have injured another child or member of staff, they would only ever restrain him if there was potential for him to hurt himself or someone else. They have a duty to safeguard others as well as your child. They also can’t stand by and allow children to purposely cause significant damage.

You clearly say that the marks were not from where he was held, it could just be that his clothing was at a funny angle and got caught. If they had tried to rearrange his clothing, they would be accused of inappropriately touching him. It definitely doesn’t sound like that is the right school for him, are you looking elsewhere?

As I said, I do not disagree that the restraint was necessary. The marks aren't consistent with just tight clothing and would require quite a lot of pressure. I take your points on board though, thanks for your comment.

I'd be asking if they had medical consent to perform a prone restraint on someone with asthma also.

This all sounds incredibly dangerous.

Do you have any autism specialist schools near you?

They shouldn't have allowed his behaviour to escalate to that point. Please get this documented. Phone ipsea or sossen about his ehcp and make sure everything is specified and quantified and that they have assessed everything that is reasonable (sensory ot, camhs, communication/ speech, social).

It sounds like an absolutely awful situation all round. I really hope your son is okay. I do think it’s time to look for the option of a specialist provision as if it has escalated to this once, it could happen again. He’s just returned from a pupil referral unit who are not trained to meet the needs of a child with asd, who by the sounds of it, needs a lot of support.

A lot of teachers really dread these types of situations as they have no choice but to act but that they know that no matter what, nobody will ever thank them for it but a split second decision can have consequences for all involved; negative for the child and also the teacher then wondering and waiting for if and when the complaint will come in.

These replies are ridiculous and show people don't have a clue what we're facing in schools. The school is not responsible for your child's behaviour. He must have been causing a safeguarding issue if he was restrained.

What was he actually doing? Was the risk and behaviour a threat to him or others?

It sounds awful for your child. Had you given permission for restraint? I'd absolutely complain it sounds like it was managed badly. Also not your sons fault school needs to manage his environment so he's not having these reactions.

Hi OP, I work in a school catering exclusively for pupils with EHCPs, usually with SEMH difficulties and /or ASD. ALL staff are trained in hold and restrain techniques (including admin, kitchen, maintenance staff etc). Restrains happen regularly. This is because our students can be very violent, aggressive and threaten the safety of themselves, other pupils and staff. I don't think many people understand how challenging an environment like this can be. I think the public would be shocked by how extreme and dangerous the behaviour we have to deal with is. I've had staff who have been stabbed, bitten, spat on etc and who regularly get seriously injured in the hold due to the child's inability to self regulate and calm down. After each hold, staff members involved in it write a detailed legally binding report. Children are offered a medical examination and, at a later time, are given a debrief to review the incident and their behaviour. Parents, social workers, Local Authority representatives are allowed redacted copies of these reports, and our Head teacher is always happy to discuss parent/carer concerns. You are definitely entitled to see a redacted copy of any report written.

Would you consider an alternative provision OP? The school might now have the resources/funding to support your child. He may feel happier in a smaller setting perhaps with specialist SEND teachers.