- Reasonable force can be used to prevent pupils from hurting themselves or others, from damaging property, or from causing disorder
- in a school, force is used for two main purposes – to control pupils or to restrain them
- the decision on whether or not to physically intervene is down to the professional judgement of the staff member concerned and should always depend on the individual circumstances.
The following list is not exhaustive but provides some examples of situations where reasonable force can and cannot be used.
Schools can use reasonable force to:
- remove disruptive children from the classroom where they have refused to follow an instruction to do so
- prevent a pupil behaving in a way that disrupts a school event or a school trip or visit
- prevent a pupil leaving the classroom where allowing the pupil to leave would risk their safety or lead to behaviour that disrupts the behaviour of others
- prevent a pupil from attacking a member of staff or another pupil, or to stop a fight in the playground
- restrain a pupil at risk of harming themselves through physical outbursts.
Schools cannot:
- use force as a punishment - it is always unlawful to use force as a punishment.
