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CBF statement on Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman report - child unnecessarily restrained in school

A new report from NIPSO outlines the findings of an investigation into the Western Trust which highlighted the inappropriate use of mechanical restraint chairs in school on a young, ambulant child, Harry, who has a diagnosis of global developmental delay and is autistic. The complaint was brought by his mother, Deirdre Shakespeare. Consent to use the restraint was not sought from the child’s parents prior to its use, and they were not informed it was being used. The Occupational Therapist failed to appropriately oversee the use of the chairs, and the report outlines the school’s failure to act in accordance with the Occupational Therapy Code of Practice, thus failing to appropriately care for the child. 

In the report, the Ombudsman, Margaret Kelly, states that insufficient consideration was given to Harry’s human rights: 

“Given the failings I identified, I consider that in fitting the wheeled base to the chair, the Trust did not give sufficient consideration to the child’s human rights and did not adhere to the FREDA principles of freedom, dignity, and autonomy.” 

The Ombudsman also found maladministration in the manner in which the Trust responded to Deirdre’s complaint which was “unfair and inappropriate”. 

Deirdre Shakespeare, Harry’s mother provided the CBF with a statement following the publication of this report: 

Both health and education staff failed our son, it cannot be justified that strapping Harry up like this was for the safety of himself or others, it was a act of cruelty and torture for a child with a disability. His treatment was inhumane 

In 2019 the Protecting Rights; Eliminating Restraint (PR;ER) group, which includes the Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF), and Positive and Active Behaviour Support Scotland (PABSS) published a report, which identified how some families have discovered that their children have been restrained multiple times at school without their knowledge. Schools are not currently legally required to record or report instances of restraint or seclusion and do not have to inform families in the UK. This leaves disabled children some of whom have limited communication skills at risk of harm.   

 Vivien Cooper, CEO of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation said: 

“The impact of restraint on children and their families can be lifelong and significant, Fit, active children with learning disabilities who are autistic should not be strapped into chairs in order to contain them. This form of mechanical restraint is an outdated way of responding to challenging behaviour and has no place in educational settings in the UK.  We know that schools can support children successfully without the use of harmful restraint.” 

The Government must introduce a legal duty across the UK to record the use of restraint in schools, and to share that information with families. Building on existing good practice in schools that do not use restrictive interventions, the Government should introduce national standards for training in schools and demonstrate their commitment to addressing this issue. 

For further information you can view an article on BBC news here 

Read the NIPSO report here

Support from the CBF   

Family Support Service   

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this statement, you can call the Family Support Service on 0300 666 0126   

Or email us at support@thecbf.org.uk   

We are open at the following times:   

Monday – Thursday: 9am – 5pm 
Friday: 9am – 3pm   

We offer information about challenging behaviour to anyone who provides support to a child, young person, or adult with a severe learning disability. Details of other organisations who offer information and advice can be found here 

Please note we are a small support service so you may not be able to get support straight away. We will support families with urgent concerns as a priority.   

Professionals are also welcome to contact the CBF. 

Resources on our website   

Please consult the following information section on our website, for information sheets and signposting:   

When things go wrong page 

About the PR;ER group    

The Protecting Rights; Eliminating Restraint (PR;ER) group is a group of organisations working with families to tackle the issue of restrictive interventions across the UK.    

Restraint and Seclusion