Restraint and seclusion 1 Restraint and seclusion 5 (1) In this Act— (a) “restraint” means anything done by a member of the staff of an education provider with the intention of restricting the physical movement of a child or young person, including restricting their freedom of movement or ability to move independently, (b) “seclusion” means anything done by a member of the staff of an education provider 10 with the intention of isolating a child or young person from other children or 1 young people and preventing them from leaving the place where they are isolated. (2) References in this Act to “the use of” restraint or seclusion are references to the doing of anything that would constitute restraint or, as the case may be, seclusion. (3) In subsection (1), “member of the staff of an education provider” includes anyone acting 15 under the authority of an education provider. 2 Guidance on restraint and seclusion in schools (1) The Scottish Ministers must issue guidance to education providers about the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. (2) The guidance must include in particular guidance about the following matters— 20 (a) appropriate and inappropriate forms of restraint and seclusion, (b) alternatives to restraint and seclusion, (c) action that might be taken to prevent or minimise the use of restraint and seclusion, (d) matters to be taken into consideration with a view to safeguarding children and young people subject to restraint or seclusion, 25 (e) legal requirements, and any other legal considerations, that might apply or be relevant to the use of restraint or seclusion, SP Bill 61 Session 6 (2025) 2 Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill (f) action to be taken following an incident resulting in the use of restraint or seclusion, (g) the recording, reporting and monitoring of incidents involving the use of restraint or seclusion, 5 (h) inspection of the practice of restraint and seclusion, (i) the training of staff in the use of restraint and seclusion, (j) compliance with the duties under this Act, (k) processes for the making of complaints about the use of restraint and seclusion, and the provision of information about the making of such complaints, 10 (l) action to be taken to resolve or remedy complaints. 1 (3) The Scottish Ministers must keep the guidance under review and may issue revised guidance from to time to time. (4) Guidance under this section may elaborate upon the definitions of “restraint” and “seclusion” in section 1. 15 (5) Guidance under this section may make different provision for different purposes, including different provision for different education providers or different schools. (6) Before issuing guidance or revised guidance under this section, the Scottish Ministers must consult— (a) education providers, 20 (b) persons or bodies appearing to the Scottish Ministers to be representative of the interests of parents of children and young people in schools, (c) any trade union appearing to the Scottish Ministers to be representative of the staff in schools, (d) the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, 25 (e) such voluntary organisations and other persons as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate. (7) An education provider must have regard to guidance and revised guidance issued under this section. (8) Guidance and revised guidance issued under this section must be published in such 30 manner as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate. 3 Duty to inform parents of use of restraint or seclusion (1) Where a child or young person is subject to restraint or seclusion in a school, the responsible person for that school must inform the parent of the child or young person of— 35 (a) the fact that the child or young person has been subject to restraint or seclusion, and (b) details of the incident giving rise to the use of restraint or seclusion in relation to the child or young person. (2) The responsible person must inform the parent as soon as possible and, in any event, 40 no later than 24 hours after the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the restraint or seclusion. 3 Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill (3) In this section, the “responsible person” for a school is— (a) in relation to a school under the management or control of an education authority, the headteacher of the school or another member of the school staff authorised by the headteacher, 5 (b) in relation to an independent school, the proprietor of the school, (c) in relation to a grant-aided school, the managers of the school. 4 Duty to record and report on use of restraint and seclusion (1) Each education provider must record all incidences of the use of restraint or seclusion in its schools. 10 (2) The proprietor of an independent school and the managers of a grant-aided school must 1 inform the education authority in whose area the school is situated, by such time as the authority may specify, of the number of incidences of restraint and seclusion in the school. (3) Each education authority must inform the Scottish Ministers, by such time as they may 15 specify, of the number of incidences of restraint and seclusion in schools in its area. (4) The Scottish Ministers must, for each year— (a) prepare a report setting out the number of incidences of the use of restraint and seclusion in schools in Scotland in the year, and (b) lay...