Minimising student distress in schools#

The Education (Physical Restraint) rules set out the specific actions schools need to take to reduce student distress and minimise physical restraint. These include developing policies and procedures, staff training, and compulsory reporting.

Aramai He Tētēkura |Arise our Future Generations guidelines#

Aramai He Tētēkura | Arise our Future Generations guidelines help staff working with ākonga | students understand and address the factors that contribute to distress. It provides a practical approach schools can use to address distress without resorting to physical restraint. Most schools do not use physical restraint. Those staff supporting a student with restraint as part of their support plan must complete our training.

The starting point for the guidelines, the compulsory online module Physical Restraint - Understanding the Rules and Guidelines and the Aramai He Tētēkura Minimising Physical Restraint learning resource is a firm belief that:

• every ākonga has tapu, mana and potential
• every ākonga deserves to be treated with respect and fairness regardless of age, disability or ethnicity.

School policies#

All registered schools must have a policy on reducing ākonga | student distress and the use of restraint. All staff, parents, whānau | families and caregivers need to be clear on what is in it. The policy must include a process for managing complaints. It must be readily available to anyone in the school community.

Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa has a sample policy.

Minimising the use of physical restraint – Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa

Reporting incidents#

You must report all incidents of physical restraint to us using the online portal. We use this to plan which schools need our support.

Every staff member who uses physical restraint must complete a staff physical restraint incident report. The employer must put a copy of the form in the student’s file. The student’s parents or caregivers must also be given a copy.

Schools can report incidents through either:

• Community portal
• Physical restraint incident reporting (use Chrome or Edge).

Training resources#

All physical restraints training resources, including those below, are available on the page below.

All registered kaiako | teachers must complete the compulsory online module 'Physical Restraint: Understanding the Rules and Guidelines'. 

Physical Restraint: Understanding the Rules and Guidelines – Education LMS

Support staff in a team supporting a student with restraint as part of their support plan must also complete the online module.

To support the reduction of physical restraint in schools, the Aramai He Tētēkura Minimising Physical Restraint Learning Resource also supports Rule 12b with 4 modules for kaiako and support staff to recognise and respond to ākonga | student distress in mana-enhancing ways.