Reducing the use of physical intervention and restraint in special schools – one academy’s story

Maria Taylor, Co Principal, on Wishmore Cross Academy’s aim of reducing restraint and physical intervention, including the justification behind the plan, and the results.

The use of restrictive physical interventions has been, and still is, common practice in many special schools.

It is used with pupils who have social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH), those who display extreme behaviour in association with learning disability and/or autistic spectrum disorders or for pupils with severe behavioural difficulties in some mainstream settings.

The blog was published on the Pearson website in 2016 and is available to read in full here:

https://www.pearson.com/uk/educators/special-educational-needs-disability/send-blog/2016/08/reducing-physical-intervention-and-restraint-in-special-schools.html

Named Social worker for people with learning disabilities- findings from pilot

Published by: Department of Health – July 2017

This report sets out the findings from the six sites which have been part of the Named Social Work programme during the six months from October 2016 to March 2017.

In this report you will find a summary of the impact that has been achieved in piloting a Named Social Worker approach as well as detailed findings from each of the six sites, set in the context of the scope and focus of their pilot; a set of programme level insights, drawn from the sites, about the implications of introducing a Named Social Worker model; and a selection of tools that sites have developed or adapted in order to implement their Named Social Worker model.

The programme also provided insight into how a Named Social Worker model can shift outcomes; by providing permission for social workers to work in new ways; by setting expectations around working more closely with individuals; by opening up visibility across the system for named social workers to engage at different stages of an individual’s journey; and by being an endeavour of the whole team.

More information and access to findings from each of the pilot sites are available on the SCIE website:

http://www.scie.org.uk/social-work/named-social-worker/findings-from-pilot-sites?utm_campaign=8547990_SCIELine%2010%20August%202017&utm_medium=email&utm_source=SCIE&utm_sfid=003G000002M8lpWIAR&utm_role=Manager&dm_i=4O5,537O6,L0O1XX,JHTA6,1

NICE seeks to improve autistic people’s health and wellbeing (1 August 2017)

A new recommendation from NICE (the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence) seeks to improve autistic people’s experiences of GP services in England. It encourages GPs to record someone’s autism diagnosis, in a step that The National Autistic Society believes could help to tackle the unacceptable health inequality faced by autistic people.

More information from the NAS here:

http://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/news/2017-08-01-nice.aspx

Development of Pict-O-Stat: Violence – Focus On Experiences of Violence and a Survey That Can Be Completed by the Individuals Themselves

The purpose of this paper was to find a method that makes it possible for people with intellectual disabilities to independently contribute to population-based research on sensitive subjects. It is important to be able to answer questionnaires independently in sensitive research areas because the participant may not want to ask for help in answering a questionnaire about sexual violence, domestic violence, etc.

Kerstin Kristensen and Anders Möller (2017) “Development of Pict-O-Stat: violence – focus on experiences of violence and a survey that can be completed by the individuals themselves”, Journal of Adult Protection, Vol. 19 Iss: 3, pp.146-1557

For more from the Journal of Adult Protection please go here.

To access the paper via Care Knowledge go here:

https://www.careknowledge.com/resources/journals/adult-protection/2017/issue3/development-of-pict-o-stat-violence?utm_source=http://news.pavpub.com/olmgroup_prolz/&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CK%20Friday%2011th%20August%20Overview&utm_term=Ending%20%e2%80%9cout%20of%20area%e2%80%9d%20placements,%20the%20fragility%20of%20the%20care%20home%20market,%20conflicts%20of%20interest%20in%20social%20care,%20palliative%20care%20in%20care%20homes,%20an%20improvement%20notice%20issued%20to%20Gloucestershire,%20sexual%20orientation%20and%20suicidal%20behaviour%20in%20young%20LGB%20people,%20homelessness%20projections,%20what%20is%20it%20like%20to%20live%20in%20a%20care%20home?,%20living%20standards%20and%20ethnicity%20and%20more&utm_content=165692&gator_td=TVno9K4ajc/HAXrycbssVu2xj2SsEHAq3rx2E4ewGCufiBm7aw87wVjTcb/5PXeBdjkazC+pBDBrQ1wEgqxUjaxMYY3Fplm+1bz9PffYcn+xcin0REpAEXZFNK7JT6HrgXlIwXYbSz9qDQOSuvbX592OXcjep0c0ihwp4i0G6BpA/HGlhDibKeOLZa/mevfUKRuOP2QKAxD0cWD17y4EOQ==