Appendix C
Andy Smith
From:
Olga Berezovsky
Sent:
Wednesday, 7 November 2018 4:34 p.m.
To:
'[email address]'; '[email address]';
'[email address]'; '[email address]'; '[email address]';
'[email address]'; 'Gerard Direen'; David Wales; Shelley Dean; Mary Pupich; 'J
Nel'; 'Belle Tuimaseve-Fox'; '[email address]'; David Pluck; 'Mary Hall'; 'Jack
Boyle'; '[email address]'
Subject:
Physical Restraint Guidelines - draft working document not for wider circulatin
Attachments:
Physical Restraint Guildelines Redraft (004).docx
Kia ora koutou
Please find attached a working draft of the refreshed physical restraint guidelines. We considered the feedback
received, and made some changes. We will work through these and other ideas not incorporated in this current
draft, at the session. This draft is circulated for use at the meeting. Please note there will be a fully edited/proofed
penultimate draft after Friday’s workshop.
The agenda for the session is:
•
Welcome
•
Minutes from the last meeting and general update
•
Scenarios activity, identifying the response (the Acts, the defence)
•
Update of the guidelines (alignment with the rules), and what’s changed
•
Reporting requirements vs reviewing
•
Additional Resources (Q n A; Scenario Resource)
•
Testing understanding of the resource
•
Roll out plan
See you at the meeting.
Olga
under the Official Information Act 1982
ed
Olga Berezovsky | Senior Advisor
DDI 9(2)(a)
Ext 9(2)(a)
33 Bowen Street, Wellington
education.govt.nz | Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
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We get the job done Ka oti i a mātou ngā mahi
We are respectful, we listen, we learn He rōpū manaaki, he rōpū whakarongo, he rōpū ako mātou We back ourselves and others to win Ka manawanui ki a mātou, me ētahi ake kia wikitoria We work together for maximum impact Ka mahi ngātahi mō te tukinga nui tonu
Great results are our bottom line Ko ngā huanga tino pai ā mātou whāinga mutunga
1
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Act
Guidelines for Registered Schools in
New Zealand on the Use of Physical
Information
Restraint
November 2018
Official
the
under
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These guidelines are issued by the Secretary for Education under section 139AE of the Education Act
1989.
Ministry of Education
Mātauranga House
33 Bowen Street
PO Box 1666
Wellington 6140
www.education.govt.nz
© Crown copyright, 2017
All rights reserved.
Al enquiries should be made to the publisher
ISBN .................
New Zealand.govt.nz
under the Official Information Act 1982
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Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . E
xxx Principles
Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . Error! Bookmark not defined.
Responsibilities of Boards of Trustees, Sponsors of Partnership Schools Kura Hourua,
Managers of Private Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . Error! Bookmark not defined.
Good practice guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . K
Student and staff wellbeing come first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K
Identifying when you may need to apply physical restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . K
Use physical restraint only where safety is at a serious and imminent risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... K
What is serious and imminent risk to safety? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . K
These examples do not pose a serious and imminent risk to safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . L
Acceptable Physical Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . L
Use preventative and de-escalation techniques first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . M
Preventative techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... M
What may escalate the behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . O
Guidance if you have to use physical restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . P
What to do if prevention and de-escalation do not work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... P
Monitor wellbeing throughout when applying physical restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . Q
Good practice fol owing an incident involving physical restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . Q
Debriefing the incident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . Q
Promote the minimisation of physical restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . S
Reporting and documenting the incident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. S
Individual Behaviour Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . T
Adapting the Individual Behaviour Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . U
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Training in safe responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... U
For the whole school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . Error! Bookmark not defined.
For the team supporting the student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . Error! Bookmark not defined.
Reporting templates for physical restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . U
Appendix 1: Staff physical restraint incident report form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . V
Appendix 2: I
Released nformation for the Ministry of Education and the employer – in accordance
with Rule 8(1) of the Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2017 . Error! Bookmark not defined.
Information for the Ministry of Education and the employer form . . . . . . Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Appendix 4: Debriefing form for staff involved in physical restraint incident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BB
Appendix 5: Physical restraint debriefing form – parents or caregivers, student . . . . . . . . . . . . . CC
Developing the guidelines: expertise from throughout the sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . 1
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Foreword
Student and staff wellbeing is at the heart of these guidelines. Safe physical and emotional
environments are of greatest importance for all students, and support teachers in their professional
role. Minimising the use of physical restraint is important. Research tells us that physical restraint
compromises the health and safety of students, and those using it.
The guidelines are a resource issued under section 139AE of the Education Act 1989 to help schools
understand their responsibilities under the legislation on the use and reporting of physical restraint,
and the prohibition of seclusion (sections 139AB –sections139AE). They also explain the associated
Physical Restraint Rules 2017
1.
The legislation requires all schools to have regard to these guidelines. The guidelines also make it
clear that under the legislation seclusion is prohibited and must not be used in New Zealand schools.
The guidelines take into account current international research and directions, and relevant
legislation and international conventions including the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990,
Education Act 1989, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Vulnerable Children Act 2014, Health and
Safety at Work Act 2015, and the Crimes Act 1961.
Expertise from throughout the sector helped informed the development of the guidelines. We thank
representatives from the Special Education Principals’ Association of New Zealand, New Zealand
Principals’ Federation, New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa, New Zealand School Trustees
Association, Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand, New Zealand Post Primary Teachers
Association, Ministry of Health, High and Complex Needs Unit, the Children’s Commission, New
Zealand Police and the Ministry of Education.
under the Official Information Act 1982
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The
Guidelines for Registered Schools in New Zealand on the use of Physical Restraint (the guidelines) are issued by the Secretary for
Education under section 139AE of the Education Act 1989 (The Act). They supplement the legislation relating to limits on the use of
physical restraint and the prohibition of seclusion. They explain the legislation (sections 139 AB to 139AE of the Education Act 1989) and
the associated Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2017 (the rules).
Introduction
The guidelines are a resource to help schools understand their responsibilities under the legislation
on the use and reporting of physical restraint and the prohibition of seclusion. The guidelines also
aim to support staff to safely manage potentially dangerous behaviour.
The guidelines support these objectives by describing:
• key principles to help ensure all schools and learning environments are safe for all children
and adults
• who can apply physical restraint and under what circumstances (as defined by the
legislation)
• the roles and responsibilities of school leaders (Boards, Sponsors and Managers)
• advice about identifying when physical restraint can be applied
• safe ways to manage potential y dangerous situations when a student may need to be
physically restrained. These include preventative or de-escalation techniques to avoid the
need to physically restrain a student Options for managing behaviour, if prevention or de-
escalation does not work, are also provided
• how to incorporate physical restraint into an Individual Behaviour Plan if necessary, and who
to involve in the decision making process, including parents and caregivers
• how to review situations involving restraint to provide information or new learning to
prevent future occurrences and provide support for staff and children affected
• how to report incidents of physical restraint, and
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• examples of physical contact and physical restraint policies.
Using these guidelines wil help staff respond to the uncertainty they can experience when faced
with a student exhibiting difficult behaviour that may escalate into a dangerous situation, and
prevent future occurrences.
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Guiding principles
The guidelines are built on a number of fundamental guiding principles.
Principle 1: Physical restraint is a serious intervention. These guidelines aim to minimise the use of
physical restraint.
Principle 2: If there is an alternative to physically restraining a student, use the alternative. Behaviour 1982
strategies to respond to dangerous behaviour should address the underlying cause or purpose of the
dangerous behaviour.
Act
Principle 3: Schools staff should have access to resources or training on appropriate, effective
alternatives to physical restraint and seclusion such as positive behaviour interventions and supports,
and for cases involving imminent danger or serious harm, on the safe use of physical restraint for
children.
Principle 4: All schools are required to provide a safe physical and emotional environment for students
and staff. Parents, students and the public have a legitimate expectation that the school environment
will be a safe environment that supports learning.
Information
Principle 5: The Education Act 1989 provides for the circumstances when teachers and authorised
staff members may physically restrain a student. In exercising these powers, teachers and authorised
staff members must act reasonably and proportionately in the circumstances to achieve a safe
environment for students and staff.
Principle 6: Students’ rights are protected under the Bil of Rights Act 1990.
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Principle 7: Each restraint incident provides an opportunity for reflecting to develop understanding
about the child and circumstance to prevent restraint.
the
Principle 8: Schools should develop clear behaviour policies that incorporates guidance on safe
appropriate, physical contact to support staff.
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Physical contact with children
Physical contact is part of a teacher’s expression of care for a student. Teachers should and do
respond to children and young people in a way that gives expression to an appropriate level of care.
Teachers who work with younger students, for example in junior primary, are faced with different
situations than teachers in upper primary and secondary schools. They are more likely to have
physical contact with younger students, for example, when offering comfort, guidance and in daily
aspects of their teaching. This may involve assisting students who have soiled themselves or who
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need help dressing or undressing at appropriate times. Such contact should be defined within a
school’s acceptable physical contact.
New Zealand Legislation
What is physical restraint?
The Act defines physical restraint as using physical force to prevent, restrict, or subdue the
movement of a student’s body or part of the student’s body.
Who can use physical restraint in schools?
Physical restraint can only be used by teachers or authorised staff members. Teachers are people
employed in a teaching position at a school. This includes a person with a Limited Authority to
Teach, and a relief teacher employed by the employer (e.g. board of trustees, sponsor or manager).
All teachers are automatically authorised to act under the legislation.
When can physical restraint be used in schools?
The Act limits the use of physical restraint by teachers or authorised staff members in schools to
situations where:
• they have reasonable grounds to believe that there is a serious and imminent risk to the
safety of a student or of any other person; and
• the restraint used is reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.
How does the legal framework for physical restraint wo k?
Physical restraint is regulated via a combination of the Act, the rules and statutory guidelines. It is a
legal requirement for schools to:
• comply with the Act and rules
• have regard to the guidelines.
The legislation and rules set out what schools must do. The guidelines outline good practice in using
physical restraint, and monitoring and reporting on the use of physical restraint. By following the
Act, the rules and the guidelines when using physical restraint, a teacher or authorised staff member
will minimise their risk of injuring a student or being hurt themselves, and mitigate their risk of legal
liability.
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When did the legislation come into effect?
The legislation has applied since 19 May 2017.
Seclusion
The Act bans the use of seclusion in schools and early childhood services including ngā kōhanga reo.
More information about seclusion can be found on the Ministry of Education website:
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https://education.govt.nz/school/managing-and-supporting-students/student-behaviour-help-and-
guidance/seclusion/
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Responsibilities of Boards of Trustees Sponsors of Partnership Schools
Kura Houra, Managers of Private Schools
Authorising Staff members
Boards, sponsors of partnership schools kura hourua and managers of private schools
must the
follow the procedure for authorising staff members, who are not employed as teachers, to use
restraint in accordance with Rule 5 of the Rules. The Rules are:
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• An employer may authorise an employee, who is not a teacher, to use physical restraint.
• Every authorization must be in writing
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• The employer must give the employee a copy of the authorization
• The employee may, by written notice to the employee, revoke an authorisation at any time.
Administration
Boards, sponsors and managers should ensure that:
Information
• school practices are clear, follow the rules, are well-documented, explained to students in an
age-appropriate way, and available to all
• teachers and authorised staff who are designated to physically restrain students are suitably
supported and trained for this task.
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• systems are in place to support the smooth running of the school. These include keeping
written records and fol owing requirements to notify, monitor and report on the use of
physical restraint.
the
School policies on physical restraint
Each school should:
under
• develop policies on physical restraint that follow these guidelines and make these policies
available for all students, parents and caregivers
• provide a clear complaints process for students, parents and caregivers
• review the policy as part of the school’s annual review cycle.
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Communicating with students and with the school community
It is the school’s responsibility to ensure that parents, students, school staff and the community
know about the school’s plans and policies for managing challenging behaviour and using physical
restraint.
This includes having processes in place to inform parents when physical restraint has been used.
Review
The Education Review Office may review a school’s use of physical restraint, as it would any other
school operation or procedure.
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Good practice guidance
Student and staff wel being come first
These guidelines focus on staff and student safety and wellbeing. They provide staff with generic
techniques for preventing and de-escalating potentially dangerous situations. Schools can request
the Understanding Behaviour Responding Safely training which provides staff with further training in
preventing and de-escalating behaviours(see page xxx).
Identifying when you may need to apply physical restraint
Use physical restraint only where safety is at a serious and imminent risk
Physical restraint is a serious intervention. The emotional and physical impact on the student being
restrained and the person doing the restraining can affect the wellbeing of both the student and the
staff member who applies it.
The first aim should be to avoid needing to use physical restraint Use preventative and de-
escalation techniques to reduce the risk of injury.
Use physical restraint only when:
The teacher or authorised staff member reasonably be ieves that the safety of the student or of any
other person is at serious and imminent risk.
The physical restraint response must be reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances:
• Use the minimum force necessary to respond to the serious and imminent risk to safety.
• Use physical restraint only for as long as is needed to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
What is serious and imminent risk to safety?
The physical restraint provisions are intended to deal with the upper end of the spectrum of
situations where it is clear that, in these situations, the restraint is in response to an imminent risk to
safety.
under the Official Information Act 1982
Teachers and authorised staff members wil need to use their professional judgement to decide
what constitutes “a serious and imminent risk to safety”. These situations are examples.
• A student is moving in with a weapon, or something that could be used as a weapon, and is
clearly intent on using violence towards another person.
• A student is physically attacking another person, or is about to.
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• A student is throwing furniture, computers, or breaking glass where there is a possibility that
they or others could be injured if cut or hit.
• A student is putting themselves in danger, for example running onto a road or trying to harm
themselves.
These examples do not pose a serious and imminent risk to safety
Avoid using physical restraint to manage behaviour in these situations:
• to respond to behaviour that is disrupting the classroom but not putting anyone in danger of
being hurt
• for refusal to comply with an adult’s request
• to respond to verbal threats
• to stop a student who is trying to leave the classroom
• to stop a student leaving a school without permission (who has the developmental capacity to
be safe walking on the footpath or crossing the road)
• as coercion, discipline or punishment
• to stop a student who is damaging or removing property, unless there is a risk to safety. School
Trustees Association provides information for schools about property damage.
Acceptable Physical Contact
Staff may need to physical y support students. The fol owing situations involving physical contact to
support students happen in schools every day:
• Physical contact, such as an open hand on the arm, back or shoulders to remove a student from
a situation to a safer place.
• Staff may hold the hand of a young student who is happy to have their hand held for a short
time.
• Staff may need to comfort a younger child when their parent leaves, or may pick a student up to
comfort them.
• Younger students, especially in their first year of school, sometimes need additional help. For
example, you may “shepherd” a group of younger students from one place to another.
under the Official Information Act 1982
• Phy ical contact to support a student to move them to another location, or help them to get in a
vehicle or use the stairs.
• The practice of harness restraint, when keeping a student and others safe in a moving vehicle, or
when recommended by a physiotherapist or occupational therapist for safety or body
positioning.
• Assisting a student with toileting, including changing a nappy.
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When there is serious and imminent risk to safety use preventative and de-escalation
techniques first
Research tells us that many cases of restraint can be prevented through knowing the student,
building trusting relationships and using effective de-escalation techniques.
De-escalation refers to a set of verbal and non-verbal responses which if used selectively and
appropriately reduces the level of a student’s anxiety or anger to prevent loss of control.
Preventative techniques
Understand the student
• Get to know the student and identify potentially difficult times or situations that may be
stressful or difficult for them. Analyse school reports and see if there are patterns of difficulty,
such as conflict with peers at break times.
• Monitor wider classroom/playground behaviour carefully for potential areas of conflict. School-
wide behavior supports offer a range of tools to support monitoring. School-wide positive
behavior is a resource available to all schools.
• Identify skills that are developing for the student that might need additional support such as
managing transitions. The ALSUP tool is a great resource for thinking through different scenarios
where a child may need further support.
https://www.livesinthebalance.org/sites/default/ iles/ALSUP%20060417.pdf
• Identify the student’s unique personal signs of stress. These behaviour cues are important
predictors for a child’s loss of emotional regulation or control and allow you to intervene early.
They can be characterised by:
Breathlessness
Flushing of the face,
Talking fast, excitedly or loudly
Arguing under the Official Information Act 1982
Making noises
Rigid posture, clenching of fists and jaws
Pacing up and down
Swearing, abusive and derogatory remarks
• Behaviour cues occur on a continuum e.g. from a flushed face, to arguing, to pacing. Know the
signs and intervene early.
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• Teach all your children skills to keep calm. Mindfulness games and breathing exercises are a fun
way to build these.
• Build calming activities into your routines e.g. reading after energetic activities. Some students
are more likely to escalate if their body is not calm.
• For students that have difficulty with their emotional regulation, develop plans with them where
they can practice being calm. Have places in the classroom or nearby where this can occur, and
where other students know not to disturb them or will not disturb them. Trust that calm
students want to return to their learning activities.
Build trusting relationships
Research shows that students learn best when they experience positive relationships with their
teachers.
The Ministry of Education supports the building of trusting relationships with access to the
Incredible Years Teacher programme, and the Restorative Practice tools and resources kete.
The Incredible Years Teacher programme provides teachers with approaches to help turn disruptive
behaviour around and create a more positive learning environment for their students. The
programme is for teachers of children aged 3–8 years. The programme covers:
• building positive relationships with students
• proactively preventing behaviour problems
• using attention, encouragement and praise to turn behaviour around
• motivating students by giving them incentives
• helping students learn social skills, empathy, and problem-solving
• using appropriate consequences for undesirable behaviour.
Restorative Practice is a relational approach to school life grounded in beliefs about equality, dignity,
mana and the potential of all people. The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) Restorative Practice
model focuses on building and maintaining positive, respectful relationships between students and
staff, and their peers. School staff are supported with best-practice tools and techniques to restore
relationships when things go wrong. See here for resources: http://pb4l.tki.org.nz/PB4L-Restorative-
Practice/What-is-PB4L-Restorative-Practice.
Restorative kete 2 contains resources that support teachers to develop effective communication
skills. It focuses on listening, questioning and restorative scripts when things get tricky. See here:
http://pb4l.tki.org.nz/PB4L-Restorative-Practice/Restorative-Practice-Kete-Book-Two
under the Official Information Act 1982
Explore additional resources on building trusting relationships on TKI “Putting student relationships
first”. See here
: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/NZC-Online-blog/Putting-
student-relationships-first
De-escalation techniques
Demonstrate a supportive approach. A supportive approach includes body position – to the side,
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relaxed, and with limited ‘direct’ eye contact.
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• Standing side on to a student vs facing front on to a student, protects your body from harm and
is less intimidating to others. Relax your shoulders and stay calm by breathing slowly to calm
your body. A calm body conveys reassurance to the child.
• Maintain an appropriate distance. (Not too close, but close enough to provide presence and
reassurance to the student).
• Limit eye contact. Direct eye contact can be challenging and intimating for children. Be flexible
in your responses: adapt what you’re doing to the demands of the situations.
• Demonstrate a verbally calm, authoritative presence. Maintain a calm voice tone (quality and
pitch) and cadence (rhythm and rate). Deliver messages calmly with an even ‘rate’ of words
• Maintain an appropriate voice volume i.e. be aware of loudness and intensity (e.g not shouting
or whispering). Keep the volume appropriate.
• Redirect as needed a student’s focus to the desired outcome. Use the child’s name “I’m here to
help. When you are ready we can xxx”
• Al ow venting.
• Name the emotion in a calm even voice: “You look really angry”, I can see that you are very
frustrated”…
• Use the child’s name to gain attention.
• Say what you want the child to do: “When you xxx, then we can xxx “, “walk slowly” (vs the
words “don’t”, “stop that” etc.)
• Wait.
• Remove the audience – ask other students to take their work and move away.
Focus on communicating respect, your desire to help, what you want the child to do versus what
they are doing. Keep verbal interactions respectful. When appropriate, give the student clear
choices and/or directions to help them feel more secure and regain control.
Think ahead in case the
situation escalates.
Further escalation or intimidation
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Take al threats seriously.
Avoid physical intervention unless there is no safer alternative.
• If escalation occurs, move further away.
• Seek assistance.
• Make sure you have an exit plan.
• Constantly reassess the situation.
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What may escalate the behaviour
• Tone of voice, arguing or interrupting.
• Not being able to stay calm and “over talking”.
• Contradicting what the student says – even if they are wrong.
• Challenging or threatening the student with a consequence.
• Trying to shame the student or showing your disrespect for the student.
Guidance if you have to use physical restraint
What to do if prevention and de-escalation do not work
• Physical restraint can be applied by teachers and authorised staff.
• If teachers and authorised staff members do not have the skills or confidence to safely restrain a
student, call for help.
• Call the police when a student cannot be managed safely or does not calm after restraint and it
continues to be unsafe for students, staff or themselves, after al alternatives have been
explored.
• There may be situations when an unauthorised staff member intervenes and physically restrains
a student, for example when there are no teachers or authorised staff nearby.
• Although the Education Act 1989 does not cover the intervention of an unauthorised staff
member who physically restrains a student there may be other justifications for intervening
available in legislation or common law that apply.
Do not use these restraints
• Physical restraint that inhibits the student’s breathing, speaking or main method of
communication, for example physical restraint that inhibits a student’s ability to use sign
language.
• Prone (face-down) phy ical restraint
• Pressure points and pain holds
• Tackling, sitting, lying or kneeling on a student
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• Pressure on the chest or neck
• Hyperextension (bending back) of joints
• Headlocks
• Using force to take/drag a student, who is resisting, to another location
• Restraint when moving a student from one place to another – trying to get them into a van or
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taxi, for example – when they are in an escalated state, as this may escalate them further.
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Monitor wel being throughout when applying physical restraint
• The physical and psychological state of the student being restrained should be continuously
monitored by the person performing the restraint and other people present.
• Apply physical restraint only for the minimum time necessary and stop as soon as the danger has
passed.
• Monitor the physical and psychological wel being of both the student and the staff member who
applied the restraint for the rest of the school day. Watch for shock, possible unnoticed injury
and delayed effects.
Good practice fol owing an incident involving physical restraint
After the event
After an incident involving physical restraint, take these steps to ensure everyone involved stays
safe, future incidents can be prevented if possible, the parents or caregivers know, and the incident
is reported.
• Check the student regularly and support them as necessary
• Tell the parents or caregivers the same day the incident occurred so they can monitor the
student’s wel being at home.
• If the student attends a residential school, ensure the residential team manager is told, so the
student’s wellbeing can be monitored after school.
• Check with the staff member that they have support before they go home and access to services
as needed. Ensure they have someone that they can talk to if they want to, a partner, a friend, a
colleague. Connecting with others supports people through a crisis. Employee Assistance
Programme (EAP services) can provide additional support as needed.
Reviewing the incident
It is important to review situations with staff involved. Staff may be distressed by the event. They
may realise that actions could have been prevented or someone was hurt. Others may be worried
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about the consequences, such as the needs of other children who saw the restraint, or complaints
from parents or legal action.
The structured process outlined below can help provide reassurance and resolution, and allows
planning for prevention and de-escalation if there is a risk of reoccurrence.
A team approach when reviewing al ows a range of perspectives
• Hold a review session with involved staff, the Principal or Principal’s delegate, and another
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member of staff not involved in the physical restraint incident. Hold it within a few days of the
incident. If Ministry or RTLB practitioners are part of the student’s team, involve them in the
review process.
• Choose someone to lead the review. The person leading the review should be someone
independent of the situation, who can respond with active, empathetic listening.
• If the police were involved in the incident, invite them to participate in the review session.
• Reflect formally on why the incident occurred. Consider what might have prevented it, and what
might need to change to decrease the likelihood of it happening again.
• Consider whether all preventative and de-escalation strategies were used and whether the
restraint used was safe.
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• Review the Individual Behaviour Plan (if there is one) and make decisions as a team about what
needs to be strengthened to minimise the likelihood of a similar incident.
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• Write notes on the review along with agreed, next steps or actions.
Reflecting prompts
The way we reflect is important and prevents blame and other processes from preventing next steps
or actions.
• Check the person/people involved and or applied the restraint is ready to review.
“Are you ready to talk about the incident”
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• Orientate the team by focusing on the ‘lead up’ facts and patterns.
“Tell me what happened”
“What lead up to the incident, has it happened before?”
“What physical or verbal changes did you notice just before the escalation?”
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“What interventions did you try to de-escalate the situation?”
“How could you tel things were escalating?”
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“What worked well/what didn’t work well?”
• What can you suggest that might prevent this happening again in the future?
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• What can we do to strengthen the things that worked well or improve the things that didn’t go
so well?
• Do we need to agree on some actions for improvement? If so what are they?
• What help and support do you need to make these improvements?
Reviewing with parents or caregivers
• Offer the parents or caregivers a separate review as soon as practically possible
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• At this meeting, give them the opportunity to discuss the incident. Invite them to become active
partners in exploring alternatives to restraint. If appropriate, involve the student in this review
session.Write notes from the review along with next steps or actions.
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Managing complaints from parents
• It is understandable that some parents may feel upset if their child has been physically
restrained. All schools will have a policy on responding to parent complaints.
• The school should also contact the local Ministry office if the complaint cannot be easily
resolved. If further investigation is required then the Ministry can support the process.
Promote the minimisation of physical restraint
The Principal or Principal’s delegate should be responsible for:
• promoting the goal of minimising the use of physical restraint through a focus on alternative
strategies
• ensuring appropriate training is provided that aligns with the goal of minimising physical
restraint in the school
• monitoring the use of physical restraint in the school (to include gathering and analysing
information, identifying trends, and checking that documentation about each incident is
complete)
• collating information about physical restraint in a report and sharing data on physical restraint
regularly with the Board of Trustees via the Principal’s report at Board meetings. Do this in a
public-excluded session
• managing any complaints and feedback
Reporting and documenting the incident
• All incidents of physical restraint must be reported to the Ministry of Education and the
employer. Complete the form attached as appendix 1 to do this.
• When you report the Ministry will contact your school to determine whether your school needs
further support and what this support might look like.
• Staff must also complete a staff physical restraint incident report. You can use the form attached
as appendix 2 to these guidelines, or other suitable template.
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• Put the completed incident report on the student’s file, and make them available to the
student’s teacher and parents or caregivers.
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Individual Behaviour Plan
A student who regularly presents with high-risk behavior should have an Individual Behaviour Plan.
School-wide Tier Two Implementation Manual (section four) provides information on how to develop
an Individual Behavior Plan. See here: http://pb4l.tki.org.nz/PB4L-School-Wide/Support-material.
RTLB and/or MOE staff can work with the student’s support team to develop the plan. An effective
plan occurs when everyone works together over time to reduce unsafe situations, and builds the
skills of the student and the team.
The Individual Behaviour Plan should outline situations where risk occurs, the preventative and de
escalation strategies which, if successfully implemented, would prevent the need for physical
restraint.
Use of physical restraint within an Individual Behaviour Plan
Where a Ministry behaviour specialist is part of the team supporting the student, and where unsafe
situations are continuing to occur frequently or are of such magnitude that physical restraint is the
only option, the team wil be taught how to safely restrain the student. These are likely to be
situations where preventative and de-escalation strategies were not able to be implemented or have
not been effective due to the child’s on going level of elevation. Parents and caregivers who have to
use physical restraint in the home environment may want to be part of this training.
Evidence tells us that an effective Individual Behavior Plan will build the skills of the child,
support their needs and reduce the need to restraint.
Parents or caregivers should always be a member of the team developing the plan.
• Give parents or caregivers the opportunity to help make decisions about their child and agree to
the interventions that wil be put in place to support them.
• Inform parents or caregivers if physical restraint is identified in the student’s Individual
Behaviour Plan, including how it wil be applied in accordance with these guidelines.
• Provide all relevant professionals and parents or caregivers with a copy of the Individual
Behaviour Plan It should be signed off by the Principal (or Principal’s delegate) and the student’s
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parents or caregivers.
The use of physical restraint
• The use of physical restraint should be regularly reviewed and monitored by the team
supporting the student.
• Parents/caregivers should be told as soon as possible on the same day about the incident and
how it was managed in accordance with the guidelines.
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• If the student resides in a residential school or home, the residential team should be told so the
student’s wellbeing can be monitored after school.
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Adapting the Individual Behaviour Plan
• Following an incident of physical restraint hold a meeting as soon as possible. Involve the team
supporting the student, including the parents or caregivers, and the residential team manager if
the student is enrol ed in a residential school. Use the meeting to review the Individual
Behaviour Plan and the physical restraint processes followed in the incident.
• In the updated plan, identify ways to prevent the need to use physical restraint in the future.
• Incorporate in the plan the suggestions of parents or caregivers and, if appropriate, the student.
• If a behaviour specialist from the Ministry or an RTLB is supporting the team around the student,
involve them in the review of the plan.
• Put al relevant documentation in the student’s file, and copy it to the student’s teacher and
parents or caregivers.
Training in safe responses
For the whole school
A training package
, Understanding Behaviour – Responding Safely (UBRS), provides training with a
focus on preventative and de-escalation techniques. It is available to all staff and can be delivered in
modules. Contact your local Ministry of Education off ce for information about this training.
School staff should be made aware of the following:
• physical restraint should only be used in emergency situations, and only when less restrictive
interventions have not ended the serious and imminent risk to the safety of the student or
others.
• the forms of physical restraint that may compromise health and safety, and the serious physical
risks associated with some physical restraint techniques. These include the risk of asphyxia and
sudden death.
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Appendix 1: information for the Ministry of Education and the
Employer – in accordance with Rule 8(1) of the Education (Physical
Restraint) Rules 2017
If a student is physically restrained the incident must be reported to the Ministry of Education and
the employer (board of trustees, sponsor of a partnership school kura hourua, or manager of a
private school).
• Complete the form below and email it to [email address].
• Provide a copy of the form to the employer. Information on physical restraint incidents
should only be shared with the Board of Trustees via the Principal’s report.
• Only share this information in a session that excludes the public.
Why is the Ministry col ecting this information?
The Ministry wil use the information to provide appropriate support to schools and students when there are
incidents of physical restraint on students.
The Ministry wil also use this information to update the rules and guidelines to reflect evolving practice or
address areas of concern.
What is physical restraint?
The Act defines physical restraint as using physical force to prevent, restrict, or subdue the movement of a
student’s body or part of the student’s body. Physical restraint is a serious intervention. The legislation limits
the use of physical restraint on students to teachers or authorised staff members.
The fol owing situations involving physical contact happen in schools every day. They are not
examples of
physical restraint and do not have to be reported to the Ministry:
• Temporary physical conta t, such as a hand on the arm, back or shoulders to remove a student from a
situation to a safer place.
• Holding a student with a disability to move them to another location, or help them to get in a vehicle
or use the stairs.
• The practice of harness restraint, when keeping a student and others safe in a moving vehicle, or
when recommended by a physiotherapist or occupational therapist for safety or body positioning.
under the Official Information Act 1982
• Younger students, especial y in their first year of school, sometimes need additional help. For
example, you may “shepherd” a group of younger children from one place to another.
• Staff may hold the hand of a young student who is happy to have their hand held for a short time.
• Staff may pick a young student up to comfort them briefly.
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Appendix 2: Staff Physical Restraint Incident Report form
If a student is physical y restrained the incident staff must complete a
Staff Physical Restraint
Incident Report2.
• Use this form, or some other suitable template.
• The form must be completed as soon as possible.
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• The incident report should be signed off by the staff involved, any staff who witnessed the
incident, and the Principal or Principal’s delegate.
• If the Principal applied the restraint, a delegated senior management team member should
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sign off the report.
• Place a copy of the
Staff Physical Restraint Incident Report and any other relevant forms, e.g.
an injury form, in the student’s file. Make the copied forms available to the student’s
teacher/s and the student’s parents or caregivers.
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2 The reporting requirement is made in accordance with Rule 8(2) of the Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2017.
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Physical Restraint Incident Report
Note: The information in this form may be the subject of requests made under the Privacy Act 1993
and the Official Information Act 1982.
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Physical Restraint Incident Report
Developing the guidelines: expertise from throughout the sector
An advisory group from across the sector contributed to the development of the guidelines. We
sincerely thank this group for their contribution to the development of this guideline. The group
included representatives from the Special Education Principals’ Association of New Zealand, New
Zealand Principals’ Federation, New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa, New Zealand School
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Trustees Association, Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand, New Zealand Post Primary
Teachers Association, Ministry of Health, High and Complex Needs Unit, the Children’s Commission,
New Zealand Police and the Ministry of Education.
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Agenda
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Agenda
• Welcome
• Minutes from the last meeting and general update
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• Scenarios activity, identifying the response (the Acts, the defence)
• Update of the guidelines (alignment with the rules), and what’s changed
• Reporting requirements vs reviewing Official
• Additional Resources (Q n A; Scenario Re
the source)
• Testing understanding of the resource
• Roll out plan
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education.govt.nz
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Themes from minutes of the last meetin
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g
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Data
• National data important to share and helpful for policy
• More information wanted on the type of post restraint support given to
schools, and if this was helpful
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• Explore ways of sharing restraint information with MOE (electronic
reporting?)
Compliance
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• Teachers/authorised staff confused abo
the
ut what is permitted. Harder to
apply common sense)
• Boards and teachers fearful of
under the law and rules
• Variable response to legislation (restraint used?) and the rules (restraint
reported?)
education.govt.nz
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Themes continued
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Guidelines
• Guidelines OK; Need to be clear about what is lawful/not lawful
• Opportunity to strengthen/add messaging
• Addition of Q and A’s and scenarios helpful
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• Addition of more primary examples needed
• Some teachers/leaders need more support on behaviour prevention and
change strategies
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Issues
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• Insufficient support for the rol out of previous guidelines
• Inadequate fol ow-up support
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• Legislative framework and associated rules
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Scenarios
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Act
• Exercise
Information
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Scenarios
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Act
Anything that we have missed
Information
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Guidelines changes
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• Provide a clearer reflection of the rules – H/O (Education Rules)
• The language has been reviewed (“too overly negative”, “jarring”)
• Provide more information on “what to do” and make clearer the role of
physical contact vs physical restraint (not “common se
Information nse”; too many grey
areas”)
• More information provided about what to do to prevent physical restraint
• Example policies (physical contact and ph
Official ysical restraint)
• Reporting requirements clarified and r
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eflection invited
Are there supports missing?
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Are there stil some elements that are unclear?
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Supporting materials
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Act
• Questions and answers
• Scenarios
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• Training and supports
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Testing and rollout plans
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Act
Information
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Scenario
No
Physical
Physical
What would the response look like, what
contact?
contact?
restrain?
would you recommend?
Sweeping books off shelves, tipping
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water, chairs and tables, ripping
displays off walls, other children’s
work.
Child who likes a particular seat
each day keeps pushing other
children off the chair when they sit
on it.
A child won’t sit at their desk and
work alongside peers and is always
on the move. This is discussed with
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the parent and the parent says she
has trouble at meal times and
places them in a high chair and this
works. She suggests something
similar at school
Two children that mock and tease
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each other frequently. This can
escalate quickly to punching and
hitting.
Child crawling under tables and
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lying with feet in the air, banging on
tables, making growling noises.
Non-verbal child keeps biting and
picking at skin making it bleed,
some bites severe and distressing
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for other children.
When teacher requests are made
the child swears and shouts at the
teacher.
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1982
Child hurts other children by pulling
their hair when he is seated near
them.
Child breaks other children’s
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equipment and pens/pencils when
he gets annoyed/angry at them.
Child spits at other children when
he gets annoyed. Will also spit at
the teacher.
Child gets argumentative when
playing games and shouts at other
children about rule violations.
She/he wil hit, trip, push others
who he/she sees are in the
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“wrong”.
Child climbing on shelving in room
and sitting on top of shelving.
Child playing outside in the sandpit
and refusing to come in when
asked.
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Child starts crying when parent
leaves in the morning.
Child upset and running after
the
parent in the morning. Parent
asking you to do something as they
need to get to work.
Child upset and crying and refusing
to join the group.
Child hits another student then
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refuses to leave the classroom to
see the principal.
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1982
Child hits another student and
refuses to go to time out to calm
down.
Child in wheel chair keeps bumping
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other children “on purpose” with
the chair, hurting children despite
being told to stop.
Non-verbal autistic child loses
control outside of NZQA hal
doorway. Students inside started
sitting exam. Child refuses to move
and keeps screaming loudly.
Child goes to time out but refuses
to stay there and continues arguing
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and keeps coming back to class
lesson and disrupting the class.
Child refuses to sit at desk or do
any activities. Scooters around on
their hands and feet disturbing
other children while they work
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Limited language, Down Syndrome
boy loves cars and often talks with
adults in the car park about their
cars. Loves to hop inside cars to see
the
how they work. Hops in a
contractors car who is visiting the
school and then refuses to hop out,
sitting behind the wheel.
Child new to the school refuses to
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sit on the mat with others for mat
time and keeps inviting children out
to play with him/her.
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1982
Child keeps sitting on top of other
children refusing to get off when
asked.
Child soils themselves and refuses
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to leave the mat/seat/classroom.
Child smells and children start
commenting.
Child wets themselves and stays
seated in the puddle refusing to get
up.
Child refusing to go with parent
after the school day is ended.
Child refusing to sit on the mat
stating that they want to continue
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reading their book.
Child saying that they don’t want to
join the class to go and visit class 9.
Child inside the class laying waste
to everything, swearing and yelling
and throwing pencils, scissors
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anything at people. I walked in and
promptly had a pencil thrown at
me.
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Child tried punching teacher and
using school bag to swing at others
including teacher.
Child threatening other children
and staff with 'weapons' (baseball
bat, wooden sticks, blocks of wood
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etc.).
Child banging their head on the
concrete repeatedly.
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1982
Child punching walls of classroom
and screaming.
Eight year old boy smashed
windows/punched holes in the
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bathroom walls during outbursts.
Larger city school a student
assaulted two other students and a
teacher aide.
Parent unable to get child out of
their car, child clinging to parent,
returning home with child.
Child having a tantrum when the
parent leaves.
Child out of control or throwing a
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tantrum.
Child locking themselves in the
classroom or other rooms.
Student throwing digital device
across a crowded classroom
Student climbing on the roof of a
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classroom and refusing to come
down.
Viscously assaulting other kids
the
during class time.
Student howling in (medical room)
leaving and then screaming, lying
down, and refusing to move in
corridor outside main office.
Child running away from teacher,
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who is following them, throughout
the school grounds.
5 year old punches, kicks and
screams.
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1982
Child refuses to come into school,
from the top of his mother’s car. He
has missed 15 - 20 days of school
already by refusing to attend school
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in this way.
Student with special needs
emptying out containers of dice,
pens, crayons, mobilo and other
equipment around the classroom,
shouting aggressively, throwing
objects, including picking up a
laptop, upturning desks and chairs
and becoming very physical y
intimidating at the end of the
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school day.
A 7yr old starts running up a state
highway, as he wants to run home.
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