Calums Law (Restraint and Seclusion (Scotland) Bill 2025 

Why We Campaigned for Calum’s Law

The campaign for Calum’s Law was born out of heartbreak, fierce determination, and an unshakable commitment to protect children’s rights. It was sparked by the lived experiences of families and advocates who witnessed, time and again, the traumatic impact of restraint and seclusion in schools, often deployed without proper guidance, transparency, training, or accountability.

Through our work at PABSS, we have supported thousands of families who came to us with devastating accounts of their children's experiences in educational settings. We stood alongside them, offering advice, attending meetings, and creating tailored resources to support their children. Our Communication Passport has helped countless children have their voices heard, and the bespoke Positive Behaviour Support Plans we designed have been transformative for families navigating systems that too often misunderstand distress as defiance.

In 2015, Beth Morrison and Kate Sanger came to a stark realisation: There was no Scottish Government guidance for the use of restraint and seclusion in Scottish schools. They took action by launching a petition to the Scottish Parliament, igniting a decade-long campaign that has reshaped the national conversation about how we treat vulnerable children.

The story of this movement is captured in full in The PABSS Report 2025, but its heartbeat remains the same: change born of lived experience, driven by those who refused to let silence or system failure be the final word.

Calum’s Law is named in honour of a child whose story revealed just how invisible and harmful these practices can become when oversight is absent and protection breaks down. His legacy, and the bravery of his family, has galvanised voices across Scotland and beyond, uniting parents, professionals, and policymakers to demand urgent legislative reform.

Our goal was, and remains, simple, yet vital:

To ensure that no child is ever subjected to restraint or seclusion without oversight.
To make sure every incident is recorded, reported, and treated with the seriousness and transparency it warrants.
To create trauma-informed school environments where rights, dignity, and emotional wellbeing are upheld, not side-lined.

The campaign for Calum’s Law is more than policy, it’s a promise. A promise that vulnerable children will no longer be invisible. A promise that those who advocate for them will no longer be unheard.

Who Created The Bill?

Introduced by Daniel Johnson MSP, the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill aims to radically improve how schools respond to challenging situations, prioritising de-escalation and communication over control.

Core objectives of the Bill include:

• Minimising the use of restraint and seclusion across all educational settings.

• Providing clear statutory guidance on what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate restraint or seclusion practices.

• Mandating immediate notification to parents whenever their child is subjected to these practices.

• Improving data transparency around the frequency and context of restraint and seclusion, enabling schools, inspectors, and policymakers to identify patterns and drive change.

This Bill represents more than policy—it’s a turning point in how we value and protect neurodivergent children and those with additional support needs. It lays the foundation for consistent, rights-based practices that honour every child's safety and humanity.

You can read all about the bill and its progress here www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/s6/restraint-and-seclusion-in-schools-scotland-bill 

Calums Law Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill 2025