Restraint case highlights pressure on schools

<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A recent Education Council disciplinary tribunal decision&comma; in which a teacher was found guilty of misconduct for carrying a struggling child to the principal’s office&comma; highlights some of the hard decisions that teachers have to make every day to keep themselves and children safe&comma; according to teachers&&num;8217&semi; union NZEI Te Riu Roa&period;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The Education Council said in its decision that the teacher who was censured was in a difficult situation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">NZEI president Lynda Stuart says that new rules on physical restraint in schools introduced earlier this year need better back-up for teachers making the tough calls&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The employer has to ensure that teachers and authorised staff members are suitably supported and trained&comma; however the training is not automatic – schools must make a request to the Ministry&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If the objective is to improve safety&comma; then this training should have been rolled out to all schools when the new rules came in&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">She says that schools also need better resources for children with high and complex behaviour needs as schools were dealing with more and more violent and distressed children&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Schools must also keep a record of every incidence of physical restraint and send it to the Ministry&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We are not sure what happens with the information after that and this reporting can add up to a lot of extra work for schools&comma; so we need to look at a way in which this could be simplified and an assurance that the teacher and child will get the support they need&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;