Cameron Smith is SCLD’s Development Worker and a member of Restraint Reduction Scotland. Back in October Cameron attended the UK Restraint Reduction Network Annual Conference in Bristol. Here are some of his key highlights of the conference…

What was the stand-out presentation from the conference?

Paul Dix was the stand-out presentation. Paul is a parent and an author. In his presentation, Paul went deep into the issues that are currently in Additional Support Needs schools across England.

He showed us the pods and the rooms where children are sent if they don’t behave the way that the teacher wants them to and the children are in the pods and the room for up to 7-8 hours a day. For anyone unaware of what a pod is, it is like a wooden cell, with no windows and no light.

Paul explained to us that he had written to the Department of Education and they told him that they were unaware that this was happening in schools. However, it turned out that they did know all about this.

Were there any other insights from the conference?

There was a panel discussion at the conference, and it was very emotional and impactful. The panel consisted of people with lived experience of being restrained in schools and parents of children who had been through the same. Beth Morrison, a founding member of Restraint Reduction Scotland (RRS) spoke about ‘Calum’s Law‘, which is a campaign to stop the use of Restraint and Seclusion in schools in Scotland.

The panel talked about these personal experiences and the impact this has had on their lives. They also talked about the good experiences of residential school settings and their positive experiences of this. It was great to hear the panel’s insights on what still needs to be done to stop restraint and seclusion in school and residential settings.

What are the connections between the UK Restraint Reduction Network (RRN) and Restraint Reduction Scotland (RRS)?

RRS has met with NHS Wales to take the conversation forward in terms of their Reducing Restrictive Practices Framework.

We have also had Leanne Gelder from NHS England speak at the December RRS meeting on ‘Reducing Restrictive Practice in Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism settings in NHS England’.

Below is a photo of RRN Delegates during the conference dinner supporting ‘Calum’s Law’ and ‘Harry’s Law‘. These are campaigns to stop the use of Restraint and Seclusion in schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

Find out more

You can find lots of resources around restraint reduction, including presentations from the RRN conference, on the Restraint Reduction Scotland Google Drive.

Sign up to be a member of Restraint Reduction Scotland.

If you have any questions on restraint Reduction Scotland Network, please email RRS@scld.co.uk

You can also sign up to become a member of the Restraint Reduction Network.