To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the June 2023 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Committee recommendation that the NI Executive explicitly prohibit the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings and adopt a child rights-based approach to addressing violence or other disturbances in schools.

I have noted the concluding observations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Committee on the combined sixth and seventh reports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in relation to the issues of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. The UNCRC committee recommended the development of statutory guidance “on the use of restraint on children to ensure that it is used only as a measure of last resort and exclusively to prevent harm to the child or others and monitor its implementation.”

My officials previously took forward a review of the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. Following publication of the report of this review in 2022, officials worked with a wide range of stakeholders to co-design draft “Statutory Guidance on the Reduction and Management of Restrictive Practices in Educational Settings in Northern Ireland”.

The draft statutory guidance was developed using a child-rights based approach, and is underpinned by Article 3 (1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 7 (2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which state that in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

The draft statutory guidance recognises there may be occasions when pupils display behaviour that due to its intensity and impact on themselves and/or others may require emergency intervention in the form of the use of restrictive practices (including restraint and seclusion) for their care and wellbeing and that of those whom they interact with. However, the draft statutory guidance also makes clear that restrictive practices should never be used as a punitive measure and should only ever be used to prevent children, young people and others from harm.

The draft statutory guidance was consulted on at the end of last year, and the views of those who responded to the public consultation are the subject of a consultation report which I will consider in the coming weeks.

Following this, I will determine the next steps to be taken in relation to the draft statutory guidance.