Bill on restraint of children to be heard by MSPs

A new Bill to limit teachers’ restraint of children will be introduced into the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson’s Members’ Bill is called Calum’s Law after Calum Morrison, who was restrained at a special educational needs school when he was 11 years old.

His mother, Beth Morrison, has been campaigning for 15 years over what happened to her son, Calum, who has learning disabilities, autism and epilepsy.

The new law will mean schools and teachers can no longer restrain children without oversight.

Calum was still at primary school when he was restrained on the floor by four adults until he lost consciousness.

Welcoming the Bill, Morrison said: “This has been a long, harrowing road, one we feared we would never finish. But from next week we are finally confident we will achieve what we set out to do.

“We need new laws which will end the restraint of children, mandatory reporting and training for teachers and carers, and parents being fully informed.

“We have been fighting for this for 15 years, and there have been many tears and dreadful stories to tell of our most vulnerable children suffering injuries and distress because of the repeated government failure to get statutory reporting in place to record what is happening.

Johnson said: “I’m delighted to be introducing my Bill next week and I hope this is just one step towards this important Bill becoming law.

“With levels of violence in Scotland’s schools rising, the safeguards in this Bill are more important than ever.

“Some of the most vulnerable children in Scotland are being failed by the current approach to restraint and seclusion, and teachers don’t have the support they need.”