Skye House shows urgent need for action

Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, said: “We are deeply concerned about the allegations relating to children’s experiences while receiving treatment at Skye House. 

“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. They also have the right to the best possible physical and mental health. 

“My office – alongside families, campaigners and charities – has demanded for years that the Scottish Government introduces legal protection for children on the use of physical restraint and seclusion in all situations where children are in the care of the State, including schools, mental health provision and secure accommodation, along with mandatory recording and reporting of all incidents.  

We wrote to the Scottish Government alongside the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Mental Welfare Commission, the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Promise Scotland in November 2023, and we are contacting them again shortly. We have pressed the Scottish Government on the lack of progress it has made on the recommendations of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review in relation to legal provisions on restraint.  

“We are grateful to the BBC journalists who investigated the treatment of children at Skye House, and for bringing it to our attention. When we were made aware of these allegations, we contacted the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland who confirmed they would urgently investigate further.” 

Read our investigation into restraint in Scotland’s schools.