To Intervene Or Not

Post 16 education providers faced a real quandary in 2018 when the primary statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, changed its advice on the use of `reasonable force` with students.

So how did we get here? The KCSiE says that education providers should:

use reasonable force to safeguard . reasonable force covers the broad range of actions that involve a degree of physical contact to control or restrain using no more force than is needed either passive physical contact, such as standing between pupils or blocking a pupil s path, or active physical contact such as leading a pupil by the arm out of the classroom. DFE believes that the adoption of a no contact policy at a school or college can leave staff unable to fully protect students . The decision on whether or not to use reasonable force is down to the professional judgement of the staff concerned

So, no worries then! KCSiE 2018 provides a link to DfE advice to schools formulated in July 2013 and...errrrr .it says the same thing as the KCSiE 2018 section! The key points of which are (my paraphrase):

Use reasonable force to restrain or control where a student(s) may otherwise be in danger of harming themselves or others

It is up to the staff member to decide on what and how to intervene

It will be legal so long as it is reasonable i.e. use no more force than is necessary

Good. All clear then? All you need to di is to create an environment where physical intervention is a final, worst-case event. You must deal with students in a way that enables them not to fall back onto harmful behaviours (physical or verbal). Work to positive college-wide strategies that are owned by ALL staff. Ensure staff understand that the College will have their backs in any staff-student conflict situation. Work to address the critical underlying issues around poor behaviour and not the expression of their symptoms

Ok then, but what are providers actually supposed to do??? How can these positive environments be stimulated? How can staff be empowered to both understand the needs of students PRIOR to any acting out behaviour, and to know what best to do in any given situation?

The rise of County Lines activity in schools and colleges, along with the steep rise in knife crime amongst our young people leaves many staff confused and worried about how best to deal with any young person manifesting negative behavioural traits that might lead to the need for some sort of physical intervention.

My own view is that the term `reasonable force` is a contradiction in terms. Once a situation has deteriorated to the point that physical intervention is required, then it is already far out of control. If we understand the behavioural triggers that operate in our students if we can show them that we really care about them and their personal situations if we are able to recognise the ways in which conflict scenarios can escalate and the de-escalation techniques that can be used to great effect at the right points, then we can promote environments where physical intervention is a final, worst case scenario.

Staff training and awareness raising is critical to achieving this. Conflict and behavioural training for staff will help them feel more confident and able in dealing with these situations and more enabled to cut off conflict scenarios before they escalate into unmanageable situations.