Reducing Restrictive Intervention of Children and Young People
On 10th February 2020, Monday, a report will be launched at the House of Lords, which draws on the experiences of over 700 families of children with disabilities who have experienced restrictive interventions.
This has been driven by families, using data collected by ourselves at PABSS. A range of families, charities and organisations have worked together to highlight the issues in the absence of formal recording or reporting.
The report covers the number of restraints and seclusions; recording and reporting; the reasons given for interventions, and the types of injuries children and young people suffered as a result. It exposes the harm being caused and highlights the need for urgent action - we know how to support children well, and we know that it is perfectly possible to do this successfully.
Check back here for information in the lead up to our launch and updates on the day.
If you are a social media user, both PABSS and the CBF will be sharing information on Twitter & Facebook using #NoHarm.
Press Release available HERE.
Download the Report:
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Report Launch event at the House of Lords
We held a launch event at the House of Lords with the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, on 10th February 2020, hosted by Baroness Sheila Hollins.
Our joint aim was to raise awareness about this hidden issue and encourage different organisations, researchers and stakeholders across the UK to pledge to action to reduce restrictive interventions of children and young people.
Baroness Sheila Hollins opened the event by thanking all the families who shared their experiences for this report. The Baroness said: “I know it is traumatic to have to go over what happened, and we appreciate your bravery in bringing this issue to light.”
Elly Chapple, a family-carer whose daughter Ella lost her sight as a result of the traumatic impact of restrictive interventions, spoke about this life changing experience and how we should view children differently. Elly is also a founder member of the RRISC group and has worked in partnership with the CBF and ourselves to bring this issue to light.
You can find Elly’s presentation here.
Richard Hastings is the Cerebra Chair of Family Research and a Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Warwick. He explained the research background and highlighted the findings of the report and the key recommendations.
Please find Richard’s presentation here.
Nick Hobbs, Head of Advice and Investigations at the office of the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), gave the final presentation. Nick explained the importance of focusing on restraint and seclusion as human rights issues and spoke about the current work taking place in Scotland
You can find Nick’s presentation here.
A key feature of the day was when three parents described their experiences, the impact of Restrictive interventions and how we can support children well. You can see the short film produced by the CBF here.
Pledges
Invitees were asked to make a pledge to reduce restrictive intervention of children through a specific action. Pledges made at the launch begin to address all of the four main recommendations in the report.
Please see all pledges here.
Baroness Hollins closed the launch event highlighting the need to continue to ensure that the voices of families are heard and said “I hope we will look back on today as the start of a real process of change.”