Plain-English guides to the documents that shape positive handling and restraint practice in schools, links to the official sources, and the training support to put them into practice.
Guidance explainers for schools
Our explainer series takes each piece of guidance or policy that school staff are expected to know and sets out what it actually says — in plain English, with practical next steps for school leaders.
- What the DfE reasonable force guidance said — the legal power to use force, control versus restraint, and why force can never be punishment
- What the 2019 restraint reduction guidance said — positive behaviour support, behaviour plans and building systems where restraint becomes less necessary
- What the Ofsted positive environments guidance said — how Ofsted looks at restraint, restriction and the culture around children’s behaviour
- What the EHRC restraint in schools inquiry said — recording and monitoring restraint as a child-rights safeguard
- What the 2002 restrictive physical interventions guidance said — the historic foundations: last-resort restraint, policy, recording and training
- What the 2010 DCSF use of force guidance said — the predecessor document, with superseded status clearly flagged
Official guidance and reports
The documents themselves, straight from the source.
- Use of reasonable force in schools — GOV.UK
- Reducing the need for restraint and restrictive intervention (2019) — GOV.UK
- Positive environments where children can flourish — GOV.UK
- Restraint in schools inquiry — Equality and Human Rights Commission
Training and support
- Full-day positive handling training — the complete foundation course for school staff
- Two-day advanced programme — for schools with higher levels of behavioural need
- Positive handling for SEND — for special schools and provisions
Downloadable templates
Our model positive handling policy and restraint-incident recording templates are being restored to this page as part of the library rebuild. If you need a template now, talk to an adviser.