The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care have published guidance on how to support children and young people with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum conditions and mental health difficulties who are at risk of restrictive intervention.

The advice is designed to support education, health and care settings put into place measures that will help them:

• understand the needs of children and young people, including the underlying causes of and triggers for their behaviour;
• develop strategies and plans to meet those needs and regularly review them as children change;
• adapt the environments in which children and young people are taught and cared for so as better to meet their needs; and
• provide appropriate support for children and young people whose behaviour challenges, without the use of restraint or restrictive intervention.

It sets out relevant law and guidance and provides a framework of core values and principles to support a proactive approach to supporting children and young people with challenging behaviour; and to reduce the need to use restraint and restrictive intervention.

The guidance is available here. 

First published 28 June 2019