Children with special needs physically restrained 460 times since start of academic year

National Council for Special Education received a total of 461 such reports in the first five months following the introduction of the guidelines, some of which included details of injuries suffered during the incidents.

Children with special needs have been physically restrained in schools more than 460 times since the beginning of the academic year, with a number of the incidents resulting in injury.

New guidelines on the management of “crisis situations” in classrooms were introduced last September, requiring schools to report all instances of physical restraint involving students with special educational needs.