Section 550 of the Education Act 1996 together with national guidance (DfES Circular 10/98), establishes the power of teachers and other staff to use reasonable force if required. This applies to all occasions when that member of staff is in charge of children both on and off school premises.
There is no legal definition of reasonable force, this would depend on the individual circumstances of each case. Only a court may judge what is reasonable in terms of the amount of force used in physical handling and obviously does so retrospectively.
Reasonable force would
NOT include any of the following:
- Holding a child around the neck, collar or other way that may restrict breathing
- Slapping, punching, kicking or tripping a child. Holding or pulling a child by their hair or ear.
- Twisting or forcing limbs against joints.
- Indecently touching or holding.
- Holding a child face down on the ground
- Lifting a child off the floor in order to intimidate
Types of incident where the use of force may be necessary are given as:
- Action due to imminent risk of injury
- Action due to imminent risk of significant damage to property
- Action where a pupil is compromising good order and discipline
The third type of incident is unlikely to be cause for restraint in a primary school setting as it is usually possible to remove the rest of the children from the scene and allow the child concerned to calm down safely. This strategy of removing the class is always to be used where possible.
The degree of force employed must be in proportion to the circumstances of the incident and the seriousness of the behaviour or the consequences it is intended to prevent. Any force should always be the minimum needed to achieve the desired result. In all cases, the person exercising the restraint must be authorised by the Head Teacher and have received appropriate approved training.
Staff must take into account if the child has an individual risk assessment or is listed on the medical needs register and follows any guidelines mentioned. Individual staff risk assessments must be considered.