Scotland moves closer towards law on child restraint in school

2 mins read

Wednesday 2 October 2024

Tags: disability, scotland, schools, additional needs


A new Bill called ‘Calum’s Law’ reached the Scottish Parliament last month after a decade-long campaign by parent carer Beth Morrison.

The Bill aims to ensure that the restraint and seclusion of children and young people in schools is only used as a last resort, where there is an immediate risk of harm, and using appropriate methods.

De-escalate difficult situations

It also promotes compulsory training for all teachers on how to de-escalate difficult situations.

It is named after Beth’s son, Calum, who lost consciousness while being forcibly restrained at a special needs school when he was 11-years-old.

Beth is also the founder of Positive and Active Behaviour Support Scotland (PABSS), a non-profit organisation promoting the use of appropriate behavioural support for children and young people with learning disabilities.

Appropriate behavioural support

In the last school year, 208 families had been in contact to say their child had been physically and emotionally harmed because they had been subjected to the use of restraint and/or seclusion in Scottish schools. 91% of the children were autistic or had ADHD.

Contact Scotland continues to support Beth and PABSS in the campaign to make physical restraint guidelines in schools legally enforceable. Further information about PABBS including who to contact about incidents of inappropriate restraint, can be found at restraintreductionnetwork.org.