Calls for isolation of children in school to be banned

7 hours ago

Robbie Meredith

BBC News NI education correspondent

Rachel Hogan gave evidence to Stormont's Education Committee

Children's Law Centre Rachel Hogan has light brown hair. She is wearing ear rings, a black shirt and a grey jacket. Behind her is a book shelf with wooden and glass doors, there are books inside on shelfs. There are blue chairs and a side table in the background. There is also a wooden door, with a white door frame behind her. — Rachel Hogan gave evidence to Stormont's Education Committee

Shutting a child alone in a room in school should be banned immediately, MLAs have heard.

That is according to Rachel Hogan from the Children's Law Centre (CLC).

Ms Hogan gave evidence to Stormont's Education Committee into pupils being restrained or put in isolation in schools.

A written submission from the CLC said that "seclusion should never be used as an intervention in an education setting".

Ms Hogan says parents have brought the issue to light

Getty Images A child is sitting at a desk alone. There are five desks in the room. There is a blackboard on the front wall, the board is divided in two. The wall of the room is painted green. The child is wearing an orange top with jeans. Their backpack is black and is sitting beside them. There is also a large wooden cupboard in the background. — Ms Hogan says parents have brought the issue to light

The DUP MLA, Peter Martin, said there were some "extremely harrowing examples" of what had happened in Northern Ireland.

"The majority of these cases are occurring in relation to children with disabilities, often non-verbal young boys," Ms Hogan had said.

"It's so draconian, it's not the way we do things today," she later continued.

"There has been a significant delay in bringing forward promised changes."

Ms Hogan said that it had been parents who had "dragged this difficulty into the light".

'Harm can be long term and lasting'

Deirdre Shakespeare's son Harry was "restrained unnecessarily" in a chair in his school, a report by the public services watchdog previously found.

The Public Services Ombudsman, Margaret Kelly, later told MLAs that her investigation found that Harry had been subject to a level of restraint that "caused real distress".

Mrs Shakespeare and some other parents have campaigned for "Harry's Law" to make it compulsory for schools to report when they have isolated or restrained a child.

"Restrictive practices can be harmful and that harm can be long term and lasting," Ms Hogan said.

In 2023, the Department of Education (DE) published draft guidance, saying restraint and seclusion should only be used as a last resort, after calls for tougher laws on when a child could be physically restrained in school.

But new laws have not yet been introduced.

'We heard of a child being tethered to a fence'

Pat Sheehan says it is a shocking situation

PA Media Pat Sheehan is wearing a blue shirt and navy jumper. He has grey hair. In the background there is two wooden tables. The walls are painted green and have a white feature running along them. — Pat Sheehan says it is a shocking situation

The committee's deputy chair, Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan, said MLAs had previously heard of a child with autism who "had his hands tied to the chair with a schoolbag."

"And more recently, we heard of a child being tethered to a fence," he continued.

"And his parents were totally unaware of that until they received the child's yearbook and there were photographs."

"I can't even begin to process that, that is very shocking," Ms Hogan replied.

Ms Hogan said that although DE had done a lot of work "there has been a significant delay in bringing forward promised changes".

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