13th August 2025
This is Connect's response to the Scottish Parliament's Education, Children and Young People's call for views:
Connect is a long-standing independent parents’ organisation and the only Scottish charity which is dedicated to supporting parental engagement in education. We provide membership services to Parent Councils and PTAs, as well as offering advice and information to individual parents/carers about any aspect of the education of their child or the wider education system.
We support education professionals in developing their skills and understanding around effective partnership working with families and the wider community. Our evidence-based approaches reflect both the recognised significant role of families in the learning of their children and young people, and the stated policies and legislation which pertain in Scotland.
Connect has previously commented on the Scottish Government’s proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill in 2024, and the proposed Restraint and Seclusion (Prevention in Schools) (Scotland) Members Bill in 2023, as well as the Scottish Government’s draft guidance on physical intervention in 2022. Our stance on this issue remains consistent and while we are disappointed that no action has been taken despite these proposed bills, we welcome the opportunity to comment on the reintroduced Member's Bill by Daniel Johnson MSP, the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill. We would like to make the following points:
- As in our previous responses, Connect agrees that restraint and seclusion in schools should be minimised and that all incidences must be reported to parents and carers. Guidance for reporting must be clearly laid out to ensure that all incidents are robustly documented and there is consistency of reporting nationally.
- We also agree that training of staff is vital in order to achieve the goal of reducing restraint and seclusion, and that a rights-based approach must be implemented throughout. Training will instil confidence in teachers and other school staff, and in turn this will foster trust-based home-school partnerships.
- As we raised in previous responses, we agree that parents must be informed about use of restraint or seclusion on their child, including a detailed report of the incident, so they are fully informed to support their child in the aftermath and so should at the very least be told there was an incident by the end of the school day it happened. We would stress that all reporting on this should be reviewed regularly by schools, Local Authorities and the Scottish Government in order to improve practice and create learning that could minimise future use of restraint or seclusion.
- We also call for debriefing to take place after any incident for the child, staff, witnesses, and parents/carers, and this should be included in reporting. Incidences of restraint or seclusion have an impact on witnesses as well as those involved, and debriefing would help to manage this impact and ensure young people, school staff, and families are not negatively affected.
- However, there must also be adequate resourcing provided to cover the administrative cost of this reporting and recording.
- We agree that representatives of parents must be meaningfully included when creating guidelines around use of restraint and seclusion in schools, and we believe this should be reinforced by robust evidence drawn from parents’ views and experiences, as well as those of staff, children and young people.
- We believe that parents’ and children’s rights are central to this issue. The process of seeking informed consent from parents/carers and the child/young person regarding the use of restraint and seclusion if required should also be reviewed regularly alongside any changes to practice. Consent should be sought from the child/young person where possible and they and their parents should both have full involvement in agreeing alternatives to restraint and seclusion. Use of restraint and seclusion should be in line with consent and agreements in place wherever possible, and this should also support the reporting process to provide confidence to all parties involved.
- We note that there is no longer an agreed timeline for review of the effectiveness of the guidance, as there was in the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, and this should be included. Our recommendation is for an initial review one year after publication and further regular reviewing. Parents, carers and young people should be consulted on these reviews to maintain transparency, and all results of reviews should be published.
- Guidance on complaints procedures should be accessible and easily available to all parents, teachers and other school staff, and should include clear processes with accessible explanations.
- We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that lodging a complaint with the school, and subsequently with the local authority, does not represent an independent complaints procedure. As we have previously stated, there should be an independent complaints process separate from schools and local authorities, as well as an emergency whistleblowing service. This must include access to independent advocacy services, as parents raising concerns or complaints with the school can leave themselves and their child exposed and isolated. We recommend that these services could be offered as part of the new Inspectorate of Education.
Our own research on Relationships, Rights and Communication between parents and educators shows that effective parent-school relationships and clarity around parents and children’s rights is vital to building trust and respect. Including the key points we have laid out above in the proposed Member's Bill will help parents and teachers to see each other as trusted partners in children’s wellbeing and ensure that children’s and parents’ rights are upheld.