Disproportionality in restrictive interventions: what schools should look for in the data
Disproportionality in restrictive interventions: what schools should look for in the data The 2026 DfE guidance expects governing bodies and proprietors to analyse intervention data, including monitoring disproportionality across vulnerable groups. That is a significant instruction. It means schools should not only ask, “Were incidents recorded?” They should also ask, “Who is experiencing restrictive interventions, […]
Searching for prohibited items: where reasonable force fits and where it does not
Searching for prohibited items: where reasonable force fits and where it does not The 2026 DfE guidance notes that force may be used by authorised staff to search for legally prohibited items, not merely items banned by school rules. That distinction matters. Schools manage many banned items: phones, vapes, energy drinks, uniform items, toys, and […]
Staff wellbeing after restrictive interventions: the missing safety control
Staff wellbeing after restrictive interventions: the missing safety control When a restrictive intervention happens in school, leaders rightly focus on the pupil: safety, injury checks, parent communication, behaviour support plans and safeguarding review. But the 2026 DfE guidance also points to wellbeing support for those affected. That includes staff. Staff wellbeing after an incident is […]
MAT-wide consistency: why trusts need one standard for restrictive interventions
MAT-wide consistency: why trusts need one standard for restrictive interventions For multi-academy trusts, the 2026 DfE guidance raises an important question: how consistent is practice across your schools? A trust may have one school recording every significant use of force carefully, another using a different form, another describing seclusion as “time out”, and another relying […]
Behaviour support plans after restraint: the review schools cannot skip
Behaviour support plans after restraint: the review schools cannot skip The 2026 DfE guidance is clear that schools should review behaviour support plans after incidents, especially where pupils have SEND, known vulnerabilities or repeated patterns of escalation. That review is not a courtesy. It is part of prevention. If the plan does not change after […]
Serious disorder, property damage and injury: understanding the thresholds for force
Serious disorder, property damage and injury: understanding the thresholds for force The 2026 DfE guidance reminds schools that reasonable force may be used in specific circumstances: to prevent injury to any person, prevent a criminal offence, prevent damage to property, or prevent serious disorder. Those words matter. They are thresholds, not vague permissions. Force is […]
Post-incident debrief: where safer practice is built
Post-incident debrief: where safer practice is built The 202: Post-incident debrief: where safer practice is built The 2026 DfE guidance expects schools to take post-incident action: medical checks where needed, debriefing with staff and pupils, analysis to prevent recurrence and wellbeing support for those affected. This is not an afterthought. The debrief is where the […]
Restraint and seclusion reporting: what the 2026 regulations mean in daily school life
Restraint and seclusion reporting: what the 2025 regulations mean in daily school life The 2026 DfE guidance sits alongside statutory recording and reporting duties, including the Seclusion and Restraint Regulations 2025. For schools, the practical message is clear: restraint and seclusion incidents must be recorded and parents informed promptly, even where plans already exist. That […]
Why schools need a training needs assessment before positive handling training
Why schools need a training needs assessment before positive handling training A school asks for positive handling training. That is common enough. The harder question is whether the school has first identified what training it actually needs. The 2026 DfE guidance says staff likely to use restrictive interventions should receive appropriate training specific to the […]
The 2026 DfE Guidance on Restrictive Interventions: What School Leaders Should Be Reviewing Now
The new 2026 DfE restrictive interventions guidance changes what schools must document, record and review. We have been asked repeatedly over the last few weeks to review school policies against it, and the pattern is now clear. The pattern is now clear. Most schools are not starting from nothing. They already have behaviour policies, positive […]