Commissioner supports Bill

Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, said:

“My office is in full support of Daniel Johnson MSP’s Member’s Bill lodged today which will introduce legally enforceable guidelines on physical restraint and use of seclusion of children in educational settings, along with mandatory recording and reporting of all incidents. 

“All children have the right to protection from all forms of abuse or harm, in all aspects of their lives. Children have the right to feel safe. They have a right to dignity, to bodily integrity, and to be protected from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.   

“My office published its investigation into restraint and seclusion in 2018, yet children are still without the protections of coherent statutory framework on the use of restraint. The Scottish Government has had many years to answer the calls from families, campaigners, charities and our office to produce statutory guidance on physical restraint and seclusion of children. It is deeply concerning that this has still not been implemented by government, and I commend Daniel Johnson MSP for his leadership by progressing this issue within Parliament.  

“The proposed Bill includes mandatory recording and reporting of all restraint incidents, which is essential to protecting children, and supports staff. It was a strong recommendation in our investigation that all local authorities should be recording all incidents of restraint and seclusion in schools consistently, and the anonymised data provided to the Scottish Government for monitoring.  Recording when restraint and seclusion take place is a vital way to monitor and scrutinise practice.  

“Any use of physical restraint is traumatic and creates a risk of harm for the child and the staff member involved. The Scottish Government should support this Bill, and should seek to extend its protections to include all settings where children are in care of the State, including mental health provision and in secure and residential care.

“Failure to ensure rights-respecting practice leaves children without the protection that they are entitled to, and the Scottish Government in breach of its human rights obligations.”