Re restraint

[autienotnaughtym]

Ds is 8 and autistic. After 4 years of mainstream school with adjustments in place there has been minimal issues and he was always happy to attend and fully participate often excelling. This year he's anxious , doesn't want to go, displaying aggression at school such as throwing things . He is now barely doing any work. Teacher insists he stays in class tho. He has full time one to one, school is adamant he's not being bullied, and that adjustments are in place. Yet he's struggling. He's not instantaneous anger child there's many signs he's struggling so I don't understand how he's getting to severe anger stage if he has a one to one to manage the situation. I'm concerned that they will request permission to restrain (seen it happen with other Sen children) can i refuse? What will happen if I do refuse?

They don't need to ask permission to restrain a child. The law says: "Reasonable force can be used to prevent pupils from hurting themselves or others, from damaging property, or from causing disorder. 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." Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/use-of-reasonable-force-in-schools

Therefore they should not be asking permission, because they can't know in advance which children would need intervention like this and when.

Does he have an EHCP? I think you need to request an emergency/early review. The anxiety and anger are concerning, and must be impacting him and his learning.

It really is I can't tell if it's a failing of teacher, too much expectation or mainstream becoming less suitable as he gets older. We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss strategies/interventions. Hence why I'm concerned. Last ehcp review was jan. There was some issues first term but it's really deteriorated in last few months so it wasn't addressed at review. I will request one if meeting is not successful. He has a ehcp and 24 hours of 1:1 support this is for processing, emotional regulation, social development, as far as I know his support is in place so I'm not sure why things are escalating or why he's being kept inthe classrooms if he's struggling. All points to raise I guess. Thanks for replying

@solidaritea

I agree, you need an early review of the EHCP. Or if you are still within the appeal window you could just appeal.

It sounds like the school need support in spotting triggers and deescalating. Are they keeping a diary/ABC chart? Does the EHCP include therapies? Is the school using anything like Zones of Regulation? If your LA still has a specialist teaching service have they had input from them? It also sounds like full time 1:1 is required.

Why won't the teacher let him leave the class? Especially with a full time 121 in place it seems like a reasonable and practical adjustment.

There's an autism team who attend review. I will ask if they could do some intervention work. Thank you for the other points I'm writing them down.

I think she's worried he won't go back if he's allowed to leave when he's struggling I'm going to address it today. The senco is attending the meeting and is quite clued up so hoping she will be of help.

Thank you for responses it's honestly heartbreaking. Until about six months ago he was such a happy child . He needed structure , routine , adjustment , forward planning etc but when everything was working he was so placid. He's never been aggressive at home but he's so anxious and unhappy I'm genuinely considering moving school or pursuing Sen school.

If the LA refuse input from the specialist teaching service you can pursue it if/when you appeal the EHCP.

Not allowing DS to leave to classroom isn’t helpful. If he is allowed to leave before he reaches crisis point he is more likely to be able to self regulate and then return. By insisting he stays he is far more often reaching the point of no return which doesn’t help DS. And a dysregulated child doesn’t learn anything. It also means the situation is far more likely to result in more disruption to the whole class.

It sounds as though his needs at school are now not being met.

I would be asking for a review of his EHCP. As they get older and often when having to become more independent in their writing and thought processes etc (usually about yr 3), things can change, schools don’t notice and the child becomes dysregulated.

It doesn’t sound as if the teacher understand his current needs.

Agree completely. The meeting went well. Thankfully restraint wasn't mentioned. Senco is quite good . She gave teacher a lot of stuff to start putting in place. We have booked another meeting in June so hoping there will be improvement. And teacher was told ;nicely) to let him have his sensory breaks away from classroom

I am glad the meeting went well. Follow it up with an email so you have a paper trail. If they aren’t already it is worth trying to get sensory movement breaks included in the EHCP.