Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill 2025 

Our Response to The Education & Skills Committee at The Scottish Parliament to their "Call for views"

Link to The Bill for Calums Law 

Positive & Active Behaviour Support Scotland (PABSS) is a registered charity run entirely by volunteers. We are a small, specialist organisation supporting families of children, young people and adults with disabilities who may present with behaviours that challenge. Our work is grounded in the belief that all behaviour is communication, and we equip families with the understanding and tools to support their children compassionately and effectively. We advocate for trauma-informed, rights-based practice across all education settings and are deeply committed to preventing the misuse of restraint and seclusion.

Most of our work involves families of very young children with autism and learning disabilities, and we provide bespoke training for professionals (including sports coaches) to support inclusive and empathetic interactions with neurodivergent children. We promote tools such as the Communication Passport and uphold human rights through every facet of our work. Our campaign for Calum’s Law, which calls for greater regulation, accountability, and transparency around restrictive practices in schools, began with a petition (PE1548) in 2015, led by our founder Beth Morrison and co-creator of the Communication Passport Kate Sanger. This campaign has since grown into a national movement for legislative reform, supported by families, professionals, and advocacy groups across Scotland.

Do you agree with the Bill's approach? Why? Please provide your response in the box provided.

PABSS wholeheartedly supports the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill 2025. We commend its efforts to embed trauma-informed, rights-based principles in education and fully endorse its alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

We note that the Scottish Government’s original consultation for the proposal of the bill reflected an overwhelming majority of respondents calling for statutory guidance on restraint and seclusion. This consensus echoes the lived experiences of families across Scotland who have shared with us the devastating consequences of inconsistent, poorly regulated and often harmful practices. We firmly believe that the guidance must now be statutory to ensure consistent protection for all children. Our submission is accompanied by the PABSS Report, which offers further evidence to support this position. Drawing on detailed case studies, national data trends and over a decade of advocacy including our campaign for Calum’s Law, the report highlights urgent gaps in current practice and sets out key recommendations for change. We respectfully urge the committee to consider this evidence in full as part of the legislative process.

 It is essential that the Bill establish clear definitions of restraint and seclusion. Our work with families has revealed a pattern of euphemistic terminology used by education staff that distorts the reality of these interventions. Terms like “support,” “caring cuddle,” “quiet room,” or “calming space” are frequently used to describe acts that may involve physical force, isolation or solitary confinement. This kind of fluffy language sanitises practices that can be deeply distressing and traumatic, falsely implying that they are therapeutic or child friendly. We are particularly concerned that school staff often avoid using accurate terminology when communicating with families, which obstructs meaningful oversight and denies parents the clarity and accountability they deserve. Without transparency, these practices remain hidden, undocumented and normalised.

The inclusion of statutory definitions anchored in international human rights frameworks is critical. Families, professionals and oversight bodies must have a shared understanding of what constitutes restraint and seclusion in order to identify, report and address these practices effectively. We believe everyone should be using the same language so there is no ambiguity.

There is a clear and urgent need for this guidance to be statutory. The guidance would support Scotland in fulfilling its obligations under Article 19 of the UNCRC as well as its commitments within The Promise to avoid retraumatising children through restrictive, humiliating and overly punitive responses to behaviour that challenges. Current guidance has failed to offer adequate protection precisely because it is non-mandatory and inconsistently applied. If staff don't have to do it, they simply will not do it.

Statutory guidance offers clarity, consistency and accountability. It sets firm expectations across all education settings, supporting teachers and staff with a safe, rights-based framework for decision-making. More importantly, it provides stronger protection for children, particularly those with additional support needs, from unnecessary or inappropriate use of restrictive practices. By introducing statutory guidance, Scotland has an opportunity to lead the way across the United Kingdom in meaningful reform and change for its most vulnerable.

PABSS has actively contributed to discussions in England and Northern Ireland as part of our wider campaigning efforts, and we believe Scotland could become the first nation to take decisive legislative action. This would send an unequivocal message: that children's dignity, safety and rights are non-negotiable, and that vague policies and hidden harm will no longer be tolerated in our education system.

 Do you think the timescale for informing parents is reasonable?

PABSS strongly believes that families must be notified immediately when restraint or seclusion has taken place. After extensive reflection and consultation with affected families, we find the current proposal of a 24-hour reporting window to be inadequate. In Scotland, when a child sustains a minor accidental injury, such as a bump to the head or a scraped knee, parents are typically informed straight away. It is therefore entirely inconsistent, and deeply concerning, that when a deliberate act is carried out by staff, potentially resulting in physical harm or emotional trauma, there is no comparable requirement for urgent communication.

Our research shows that the children most likely to be affected by restraint and seclusion are often small children with severe communication difficulties, including many who are non-speaking. These children cannot “tell” their parents what has happened, leaving families to confront unexplained injuries or distressed behaviour with no immediate context. We are gravely concerned that a 24-hour window allows time for staff narratives to be constructed, while children may be sent home with visible injuries and no explanation. This risks eroding parental trust, delaying medical or emotional support, and perpetuating a culture of secrecy and avoidance.

We urge the Scottish Government to strengthen the Bill by mandating same-day, immediate notification to families, ideally before the child returns home, with full and honest information shared in an accessible way. Timely transparency is not just good practice: it is a fundamental element of safeguarding, partnership, and respect for family rights.

  Do you agree all incidents of restraint or seclusion in schools should be recorded, collated and reported to Parliament annually?

PABSS fully supports the Bill’s requirement for education providers to record all incidents of restraint and seclusion, and for this data to be collated and reported annually to the Scottish Government and Parliament. This is a vital step toward transparency, accountability, and systemic reform. We urge the Scottish Government to provide detailed guidance on implementation, including standardised reporting formats and oversight mechanisms. Critically, we also believe the data collected must include whether the affected child or young person has additional support needs (ASN). Our research and casework consistently show that restraint and seclusion disproportionately affect children with ASN, particularly those with learning disabilities, autism, and severe communication difficulties. Without this level of disaggregation, the data risks obscuring patterns of harm and failing to inform targeted interventions. We recommend that the Bill be amended to require: - Recording of protected characteristics, including disability and ASN status. - Analysis of trends in restraint and seclusion involving children with ASN. - Publication of anonymised data to support scrutiny by Parliament, families, and advocacy organisations. This approach would align with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD and ensure that Scotland’s education system is equipped to identify and address disproportionate impacts on disabled children.

What do you think about maintaining a list of training providers on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools?

PABSS believes the Scottish Government should absolutely maintain a list of approved training providers to ensure consistency, safety and rights-based practice in education settings. Indeed, there is a strong case for establishing a list of providers who must never be used. Some training organisations are currently operating with lack accreditation and fail to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), offering approaches that are outdated, punitive or incompatible with trauma-informed values. The real priority must be quality assurance of training. This should come not only through the approval process but through ongoing evaluation, accountability and alignment with recognised standards. If robust quality assurance mechanisms are embedded, a reliable and maintained list of certified providers and excluded ones, will naturally follow. Any training standards adopted must be rooted in human rights, focused on prevention, and shaped by the voices of those with lived experience of restraint.

Training must go beyond physical techniques and instead equip staff with the understanding, empathy and skills to prevent escalation and support children compassionately. The Restraint Reduction Network (RRN) Training Standards, already referenced in the 2024 Scottish Government guidance on physical intervention in schools, offer a strong foundation. Making these standards statutory would ensure that all staff receive preventative, proportionate and rights-based training, and that any use of restrictive practices is justified and safely implemented.

In addition, we recommend that schools review and incorporate mandatory training in learning disability and autism, such as the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, which is now recognised in England as the government’s preferred standard within health and social care This training is co-produced with autistic people and those with learning disabilities, and focuses on person-centred care, communication and understanding, all of which are essential in preventing the misuse of restraint and seclusion. Together, these measures would significantly improve practice, reduce harm and ensure that Scotland’s education workforce is equipped to uphold the dignity and rights of every child.

 Any other comments?

Final Reflection

PABSS warmly welcomes the introduction of the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill 2025 and offers our full support for its principles. This Bill represents a critical opportunity to embed trauma-informed, rights-based practice throughout Scotland’s education system and to correct long-standing inconsistencies that have failed too many children. Through our close work with families, we have witnessed the harm caused by inadequate guidance, euphemistic language, and the unmonitored use of restrictive practices. Many of the children affected cannot speak for themselves, and many families have been left with unanswered questions, unexplained injuries, and fractured trust.

Scotland must now take the lead in reform by establishing clear statutory definitions of restraint and seclusion and ensuring families are notified immediately when such incidents occur. The Bill should mandate the collection of disaggregated data, particularly regarding children with additional support needs, to drive transparency and improvement. Statutory guidance must be introduced, aligned with UNCRC Article 19 and The Promise, so that restrictive, humiliating and stigmatising practices can no longer be hidden behind vague policies or "fluffy" language.

Equally vital is the reform of workforce training. All staff should receive human rights-based, preventative training, shaped by the voices of those with lived experience. The Restraint Reduction Networks Training Standards are already there to be adopted. Quality assurance must be embedded to ensure only accredited training organisations are used. The accompanying PABSS Report provides further evidence to support these calls for change. We offer it not only as a record of harm, but as a roadmap for building a safer, more compassionate, and more accountable education system.

PABSS would welcome the opportunity to collaborate in any further development of this legislation, including the drafting of statutory guidance, training standards, and monitoring frameworks. We bring not only a decade of advocacy experience, but the lived insights of families who have been directly affected by restraint and seclusion in Scottish schools. Our commitment is not only to highlight the problems, but to help co-design the solutions. We stand ready to support this process alongside policymakers, families, professionals and children's rights organisations to ensure this Bill delivers the protection and cultural change that children across Scotland deserve.

Let this be Scotland’s moment to lead, to declare that children's dignity, safety and rights are non-negotiable, and to commit to a future where all children feel safe in school, every day