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What does 'reasonable force' mean and when is it lawful for teachers to use it?

What does 'reasonable force' mean and when is it lawful for teachers to use it?

 

Under section 93 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, all school teachers were granted the power to use "reasonable force" in order to:

  • Maintain discipline in schools
  • Prevent criminal offences from taking place
  • Prevent children and others from sustaining injury

Clearly, this is a highly contentious area for all concerned, mostly due to the controversy of what is meant by the term "reasonable force". Naturally, both parents and teachers are concerned about how this definition is actually applied in real-life situations.

The main problem is that no legal definition of "reasonable force" exists. The Department for Education provides the following extremely vague definition:

"The term ‘reasonable force’ covers the broad range of actions used by most teachers  at some point in their career that involve a degree of physical contact with pupils."

Unsurprisingly, there remains some confusion and the term and how it is applied ultimately relies on a wholly subjective interpretation. Consequently, it is necessary that all teachers and school staff are provided with consistent guidance and training in this area.

Generally speaking, that which is reasonable clearly depends upon the particular circumstances of every individual case and must be appropriate to what a child has done

or appears to be about to do. The intention must always be to prevent harm to the child or to someone else and reasonable force must always be used as a last resort.

Furthermore, reasonable force may only be used on school property or in other locations where pupils are in the lawful charge of teachers, for example, on a school trip.

Every school should have a written policy regarding the use of force, which must be communicated to all staff, as well as to children and their parents. Schools may also

nominate a particular member of staff to apply this power and provide training to staff.

2011 additions to the law

In 2011, additions were made to the Education and Inspections Act 2006, making it necessary for all head teachers to inform parents of cases when reasonable force has

been used against their children. It is now a legal requirement that all incidents are communicated to parents in writing as quickly as possible after the event.

The Department for Education advises that reasonable force may be used by schools in order to:

  • Remove children from a class when they are disruptive and are refusing to leave the room when instructed to do so
  • Prevent pupils from disrupting school events
  • Prevent pupils from risking their own safety or being disruptive by leaving the classroom
  • Prevent pupils from committing acts of violence
  • Restrain pupils who risk harming themselves

Of course, under no circumstance must reasonable force ever be used as a punishment.

If you feel reasonable force has been used against your child in a way that does not align with the law, or if you are a teacher whose use of reasonable force has been called

into question, our dedicated team of specialist education lawyers may be able to help you.

Give us a call today to discuss your case in detail.

 

Match Solicitors

www.matchsolicitors.com

 

 

 



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