UNITED KINGDOM: Gov't axes school safeguarding rules for the second time

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Summary: The rules would have required teachers to record significant uses of force on children, and to report these to parents.

[2 September 2011] - Education Secretary Michael Gove announced the removal of vital school safeguarding rules, in a speech yesterday at an academy school in London.

The rules would have required teachers to record significant uses of force on children, and to report these to parents. They were due to come into force yesterday and would have brought schools into line with children's homes, healthcare settings, police stations, immigration detention and custody. In all these settings, professionals are required to record instances of physical restraint. This is a basic safeguard for children and staff. It is the only means of discovering patterns in the use of, and reasons for, physical restraint; the backgrounds and circumstances of children being restrained; and whether particular teachers are disproportionately using physical restraint. 

Carolyne Willow, CRAE's national co-ordinator, says:

"The removal of these basic, accepted safeguards takes school deregulation to a whole new level. By law, the use of physical restraint must only ever be a last resort so these recording and reporting duties would not have been time-consuming were they implemented intelligently and as Parliament intended. We are particularly anxious about disabled children and young children who may be deeply distressed and unable to tell their parents when teaching staff have physically restrained them."

Parliament agreed the rules during the passage of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, following concerns about the physical restraint of children with special educational needs without parents' knowledge. CRAE itself last year dealt with a very serious case involving the repeated restraint of a disabled primary school child whose parents were unaware of what was happening in the school. 

This is the second time the coalition Government has decided to axe the rules. They were due to come into force last September but were withdrawn and reviewed. In January this year, Schools Minister Nick Gibb wrote to the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) saying the duties would be commenced in the best interests of pupils, parents and teachers. Then this summer, Michael Gove's behaviour adviser Charlie Taylor was asked to review the duties. Yesterday Nick Gibb wrote again to the JCHR stating that a school survey revealed that half of them would record every incident of restraint were this duty to be brought into force as planned. Even though this contradicts what the 2009 Act requires, Ministers plan to axe the rules as soon as they can get the change through Parliament.
 
Bob Reitemeier, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, says:


"Most schools are a safe haven where children can thrive and learn and where they feel safe and secure. Removing this duty can break down the trust between pupils, parents and teachers, which is so important to an effective learning environment. Children are potentially being put at risk if it is left for schools to decide when it is appropriate to inform parents or carers.  

Parents and carers must know what is happening to their children in schools. This is essential if they are to take responsibility for their children's behaviour and well-being. This is particularly important for the most vulnerable children, especially those with speech and language difficulties who may not be able to communicate their views as effectively as other children."

Ahead of Charlie Taylor's report being published next week, CRAE has written to the Education Secretary with questions about the latest review, including whether parents and students were consulted and what consideration was given to the particular needs and rights of disabled children and young children.
 
Andrew Flanagan, Chief Executive of the NSPCC, says: 
 
"The NSPCC is deeply concerned about the removal of the duty on schools to record and report incidents of physical force against pupils. Monitoring of incidents of force is a key mechanism for holding schools to account and ensuring that force is used lawfully and as a method of last resort."

Carolyne Willow adds:

‘These duties protect the rights of every single child, from reception class to further education colleges. We hope parliamentarians will guard against changes to the law when this is brought to the House in due course.’

 

Further Information: 

pdf: http://www.crae.org.uk/news-and-events/news/vital-child-protection-rules...

Country: 
United Kingdom
Issues: 
Physical abuse
Violence: 
Physical abuse
Link : 

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