The starting idea is the creation of a vital cross border Restraint Reduction Network Group in Ireland – modelled on existing groups in England, Scotland and Wales. The use of seclusion and restraint in the education sector and also in social care and health services is our concern. Each stakeholder has identified the issue and advocated independently with some progress but limited success. As the AllIsland Restraint Reduction Network a core group of individuals and organisations have come together to address this issue and intend to widen our reach to have greater influence on policy makers beyond geographic or service boundaries. The All-Island Restraint Reduction Network Project is funded by the Community Foundation for Ireland.
The use of seclusion and restraint in the settings listed is a hidden issue. There is an absence of legislation and guidance, particularly in educational settings, on the use of restrictive practices, as brought to light by the 2018 Inclusion Ireland report - Shining a Light on Seclusion and Restraint in Irish Schools and the Harry's Law Campaign. There is a lack of awareness and lack of the training and oversight needed to reduce the use of restrictive practices.
We believe an all-island voice or forum will have a much greater impact on this issue. The aim is for policy and legislative change resulting in the implementation of the necessary training, oversight and resources to ensure children and adults in educational, health and social care settings are not subject to seclusion and misuse of restrictive practices.
A one-day All-Island Restraint Reduction Network conference on the use of restrictive practices. The aim is to bring together stakeholders across education, health and social care, to hear about practices and experiences and consider what needs to change. This will assist in creating a wider alliance of interested groups and individuals and strengthen the fledgling collaboration.
The theme chosen is Pathways to Restraint Elimination in Educational Settings. The AIRRN Conference 2022 brings together a variety of speakers, with discussions to explore the work that is being done – and still needs to be done – to tackle the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. We will consider and share good practice and discuss how to champion the rights of children and young adults in educational settings, so we can work cooperatively to eliminate the use of unnecessary restrictive practice.
In Northern Ireland the Department of Education has introduced guidance on restraint and seclusion and completed a review. In the Republic of Ireland the Department of Education has consulted with stakeholders on Guidelines on the Use of Physical Intervention for the Prevention and Management of Crisis Situations. There is currently no legal requirement north or south for a teacher or school to record or report the use of restraint or seclusion of a student.
Restraint and seclusion is a human rights issue across the lifespan and in many different settings. This first meeting will look at restraint in educational settings; if we get things right early for children, we pave the path for best practice throughout their lives.
Your participation and contribution will be valuable to all attending. As a new organisation we welcome and value diverse experience and perspectives.
Restraint Reduction Scotland is facilitated by the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disability (SCLD). SCLD is a knowledge hub, a lead partner to the Scottish Government in the delivery of learning disability policy and strategy, an independent charitable organisation for the learning disability sector. SCLD collaborates with wide range of stakeholders including commissioners, providers, researchers, advocates, people with learning disability and carers. SCLD supports a number of networks one of which is the Restraint Reduction Scotland.
Restraint Reduction Scotland is led by a core group of stakeholders including professionals, family carers, with the expertise and shared commitment to work towards reduction in restrictive practices. They set agendas for each network meeting and support the work of subgroups.
There are 3 subgroups working under the core stakeholder group. They are focussed on 3 key areas or themes from the RRS vision and approach document –Leadership, workforce development and monitoring and data. The subgroups report quarterly to the main network.
Restraint Reduction Scotland works collaboratively across sectors (health, social care, education etc) with family members and professionals. You can become an individual or group member of RRS. Restraint Reduction Scotland meets quarterly to consider good practice and share learning from different sectors. Each meeting has theme. Restraint Reduction Scotland aims for restraint reduction and the elimination of misuse of restrictive practices.
Restraint Reduction Scotland, when fully established, aims to link in with the wider UK Restraint Reduction Network. The national Restraint Reduction Network is a standard setting body and among many key activities provides training, provides toolkits and holds significant seminars.
Our aim is the creation of such a network, where individuals with lived experience and professionals work together, with a shared commitment to restraint reduction and elimination of misuse of restrictive practices.
9.00am
Sign in and Meet and Greets
9.30am Welcome and introductions
Derval McDonagh CEO, Inclusion Ireland
Dr. Kevin McKenna Lecturer, School of Health and Science, DKIT
Muirhevna Building DKIT Lobby Area
10.00am Opening Presentation
Dr. Niall Muldoon Ombudsman for Children
Koulla Yiasouma Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY)
10.20am
Life Stories
Emma McAfee Our Voices Matter
Deidre Shakespeare Harry’s Law
10.50am
Video Presentation
Restraint and Seclusion – Human Rights and the UNCRPD
Prof. Eilionoir Flynn School of Law NUI Galway
11.10am Tea / Coffee Break
11.30am Group Discussions
Seclusion and Restraint in Educational Settings
Muirhevna Building
DKIT
Rooms 111,112,113 Conference Room
12:30pm Lunch Break
DKIT Main Campus Restaurant
1:30pm
Video Presentations
Address to All-Island Restraint Reduction Network
Michelle McIlveen MLA Minister for Education
Restraint Reduction Network - UK Development and Perspective
Prof. Joy Duxbury OBE
1:45pm
Life Stories
Faye Hayden Chairwoman Not OK in School
Lourdes Sanchez Not OK in School
2:10pm
Report back from Group Discussions
Muirhevna Building
DKIT Rooms 111,112,113 Conference Room
2:30pm
Panel Discussion
Pathways to Restraint Reduction and Elimination of Misuse of Restricitive Practices in Educational Settings
Faye Hayden, Chairwoman Not OK in School
Rachel Hogan, Children’s Law Centre John Kearney CEO, NCSE
Emma McAfee, Our Voices Matter & Harry’s Law
Tanya Ward, Children’s Rights Alliance
Facilitator - Jayne Thompson
3:30pm Closing remarks
3:45pm
Tea/Coffee & Chat
Muirhevna Building
DKIT Lobby area
Question 1 - 30 minutes
What are the weaknesses in the education system that allow seclusion and restraint to recur?
Your perspective – experiences and challenges.
Question 2 – 30 minutes
A pathway to restraint reduction & elimination of unecessary restricitve practices?
What are the areas for action?
Your Ideas - best practice and the resources needed.
6 discussion groups, approximately 15 participants per group.
Confidentiality, respect for each other Communication, open and supportive Commitment, to be there and share
Be sensitive, remember that people have different values, beliefs, and experiences. Walk in the other’s shoes and be considerate of them
Joy Duxbury is a Mental Health Nurse and Professor of Mental Health at Manchester University. She has worked on numerous funded projects pertaining to mental health including eh exploration of perspectives and implementation. Her national and international focus has been on minimizing restrictive practices across settings. Joy has written extensively on this subject over the past 20 years and secured several grants to examine coercion and social injustices using participation and co-creation methods. As of a result of her profile in this area Joy was chair of the European Violence in Psychiatry Research group and currently remains a board member. She is Trustee and Chair of the Restraint Reduction Network. In recognition of her work she was awarded the Eileen Skellern Award in 2014 and more recently OBE in 2021.
Eilionóir Flynn is a Professor in Law and Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, National University of Ireland Galway. Her research focuses on disability and social justice, with a particular emphasis on legal capacity, advocacy, and reproductive justice. She is passionate about educating the next generation of disability rights scholars; and working in active partnership with disabled people’s organisations. Eilionóir regularly advises policymakers at national and international levels, including providing support to the Secretariat of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and in particular the working group which developed General Comment 1.
Faye Hayden lives in Leitrim and is a parent of three Neurodivergent children. Faye has a degree in Law and a Master's in Social Justice and Public Policy, she works with Young Carers and is the author of 2 children's books about disabilities and inclusion. Faye is the co-chairwoman of the 'Not OK in School Ireland' NOISI campaign, who works collaboratively with schools and parents to improve environments in education settings to prevent school placement breakdowns and improve the mental health of children. The key goals of NOISI include the removal of disciplinary policies in schools for children with SEND, end of Seclusion and Restraint in all settings and the appropriate training of all school staff and BOM to ensure the best outcomes can be achieved by children with SEND.
Rachel has worked within the legal team at the Children’s Law Centre as a Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal Representative since 2008. Rachel provides legal advice and information to parents and children, professionals and external agencies working with children in the complex area of children’s rights to special educational provision and freedom from disability discrimination within education. In strategic cases, she provides free legal representation in Tribunal hearings to ensure enforcement of children’s legal rights to provision and the prevention of disability discrimination by schools and the Education Authority. The child affected by the lack of provision may attend meetings and hearings along with Rachel to ensure their voice is properly heard. Judicial Review is employed strategically to enforce children’s education and equality rights.
Rachel provides training on behalf of Children’s Law Centre to lawyers, health and social care professionals, education professionals, parents and colleagues on Special Educational Needs, Disability Discrimination and Human Rights. She works together with the Children’s Law Centre’s policy and legal teams in relation to legislation and policy relevant to equality of access to education. This includes writing consultation responses, giving evidence at Committees and providing legal analysis in relation to children’s rights compliance.
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John Kearney is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Council for Special ducation (NCSE). He was appointed by the NCSE following an open competitive process conducted by the Public Appointments Service. John Kearney was appointed Chief Executive of the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board in September 2016. John progressed the delivery of a multi-million Regional Capital Investment Programme having overseen significant increases in post primary enrolments. John fronted the partnering of further education and training services with employers to deliver targeted upskilling programmes and has led the delivery of successful administration pilots with Education Shared Business Services. He has a wideranging wealth of experience in education developments at national level, currently implementing ICT initiatives nationwide with the Department of Education and representing the sector on the Tertiary Education System (TES) Steering Committee John has previously served as Education Officer with the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board and as Principal of Breifne College, Cavan Town. The Cork-born native joined County Cavan VEC in 2002 as school principal from his teaching position in St Colman’s College, Fermoy, Co Cork. John has a deep-rooted passion for special education and as leader of the NCSE is eager to continue developing effective stakeholder relationships in supporting the collective implementation of the vision, goals and strategy of an inclusive education system for children with special educational needs.
Emma McAfee is a full-time carer and home educator, a wife and mother to 2 children. Both of her sons are autistic and have been abused in their educational settings. Her youngest son is a part of a little-known profile within the autistic spectrum known as Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) which is underpinned by severe anxiety. He attended a special provision unit who used excessive force and multiple restraints to manage his autistic presentations from 2015 to 2018. She shared her son’s experiences through the media in 2020 and was a guest speaker at the launch of NICCY's 'Neither Seen Nor Heard' rights-based review report on the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings at the end 2021. She is also a co-founding member of Our Voices Matter; a small network of families with lived experiences of abuse in educational settings. She is an advocate for Harry's Law and all it encompasses but also wishes to see the introduction of CCTV in educational settings for child protection and safeguarding purposes as well accountability
Emma McAfee, Parent and Advocate, NI.
Niall Muldoon is Ireland’s second Ombudsman for Children. Niall, who is a Counselling and Clinical Psychologist and was appointed, for a second 6-year term, by President Michael D Higgins In February 2021. As Ombudsman for Children Niall has focused on generating an Ireland where children and young people are actively heard, particularly those who are most vulnerable.
During his tenure, the Office has sought to give voice to those children who are often not listened to. In that time the Office has consulted with young people availing of Ireland’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Direct Provision, those in children’s hospitals, young people living in Family Hubs and young people have produced a report for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The OCO has also published a range of special reports on topics such as Assessment of Needs, Scoliosis Treatment and School Places for Children with Special Educational Needs, as well as investigations highlighting cases where children’s rights were not respected in the provision of disability supports, in the care system and in housing.
The OCO has also created “Beyond Limits: Empowering young people with disabilities” an event bringing together approximately 2,000 people in Croke Park (2019), Sligo and Limerick (2022) for speakers, demonstrations, information and activities – all focused-on children with disabilities. Working with others, Niall has contributed to i) the introduction of the ‘Barnahus, One house Galway’ model to ease trauma for children who have been sexually abused and ii) bringing an end to young people being held in adult prisons. He has also contributed internationally as a member of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) where he held the role of Secretary on the Bureau for 4 years.
Lourdes Sanchez is a Spanish citizen who has been over 25 years living in Ireland. Her professional expertise is in Human Resources and Business Management. She has a strong interest in social justice, especially gender equality, and most recently in disability rights: Her thesis was on work life balance and gender equality for which she received a special mention and was first in class. Having a 17-year-old autistic child has driven further interests in psychology, advocacy and politics. When time allows, her favourite hobbies are reading and traveling, but most of all, spending quality time with her husband, her three children, and her mam. Her autistic child has enriched her life to the point that she considers herself a better person because of him, Conor has made her life highly meaningful, filled with purpose and satisfaction. Conor has also empowered Lourdes in unimaginable ways, turning her into the strong woman she currently is.
Deirdre Shakespeare is a retail business owner for 20 years; she is a wife and mother to 3 children. Her youngest son is autistic and presents with multiple disabilities, including a learning disability, which his special school managed with the excessive use of multiple restraints in his first years of education. She shared her son’s experience through the media citing a breach of his human rights, making national BBC News on multiple occasions. Harry is represented by one of the leading law firms in Human Rights litigation, KRW Law. Deirdre has engaged with local and national political representatives and wider organisations such as – the Northern Ireland Children and Young People’s Commissioner (NICCY), the RRN, the Reducing Restrictive Interventions and Safeguarding group, Northern Ireland’s Public Services Ombudsman and the Children’s Law Centre.
Deirdre Shakespeare, Parent Advocate and Campaigner, shares her son Harry’s story and having partnered with Adele Boyd, Independent Social Worker, the co-founding of Harry’s Law. Harry’s Law sets out a 10point mandate requiring mandatory reporting and recording of any use of restrictive practices, trauma informed training and ultimately the elimination of the disproportionate reliance on restraint to manage disabled children’s unmet needs. Deirdre is also a founding member of the AIRRN.
Tanya Ward, Chief Executive, Children’s Rights Alliance, RoI.
Tanya Ward is the Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance since 2012. Previously, she was the Deputy Director at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and has worked with the Irish Centre for Migration Studies, the Irish Refugee Council, the Curriculum Development Unit and the City of Dublin VEC. Tanya has a LLM in Human Rights from Queen University Belfast and has lectured on human rights for the MPhil in Ethnic and Racial Studies (TCD) and Masters in Equality Studies (UCD). She has served on the Boards of Stand Up for Children, Mental Health Reform, the Law Centre for Children and Young People and the Advisory Board for the Child Law Reporting Project. Tanya is currently Chair of the National Advisory Council for Children and Young People, Vice President of Eurochild and a member of the Programme Board on Ending Direct Provision.
Koulla Yiasouma, NI Commissioner for Children and Young People.
Koulla Yiasouma took up appointment as NI Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) in March 2015. She trained as a social worker and previously worked in probation, NI Women’s Aid and prior to her appointment was the Director of Include Youth for almost 17 years. She has also been involved in the boards of a number of voluntary and community-based organisation as well as non-departmental public bodies. She is a passionate advocate for the rights of all children, especially those with the most challenging behaviours, and she represented these issues on these bodies. As a Human Rights institution, the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People is appointed by the First and Deputy First Ministers and tasked to promote and safeguard the rights and best interests of children and young people across Northern Ireland. This includes advising public authorities and holding them to account in a variety of ways, on their delivery of children’s rights. Koulla set key strategic priorities for her term in Office. These include addressing educational inequalities, tackling child poverty, improving emotional and mental well-being and addressing the on-going legacy of the conflict on children and young people. Koulla is of Greek Cypriot origin and is married with two daughters. She was born in London and is therefore an avid Arsenal supporter.
The aim of the All-Island Restraint and Reduction Network Conference is
to bring together stakeholders across education, health and social care, to hear about practices and experiences and consider what needs to change, to create a wider alliance of interested groups and individuals, “a coalition of the willing".
We are grateful for your participation here today. If you would like to be included in the development of this important All-Island Network, please register your contact details at the information desk or contact Inclusion Ireland at admin@inclusionireland.ie or 01 8559891. Contact details for members of the AIRRN steering group are listed below.
Deirdre Shakespeare, Harry’s Law Campaign, NI. https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdre-shakespeare-005024227
Dr. Kevin McKenna, Dundalk Institute of Technology, RoI. Kevin.McKenna@DKIT.ie
Adele Boyd, Independent Social Work Educator and Associate Lecturer, NI. http://linkedin.com/in/adele-boyd-she-her-884224187
Derval McDonagh CEO, Inclusion Ireland, RoI. Derval@InclusionIreland.ie
Dr. Heather Hanna, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in Intellectual Disability, NI
Mary Lee, Information Officer, Inclusion Ireland, RoI. Mary@InclusionIreland.ie
Valerie Sullivan CEO CAUSE NI.
Dr. Aoife Watters, Lecturer in Law, Dundalk Institute of Technology, RoI. aoife.watters@dkit.ie
The AIRRN Conference is funded by
