She was speaking after The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) and the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) confirmed they had withdrawn from the Department of Education’s Restraint and Seclusion Task and Finish Group. The Royal College of Nursing had made the decision to withdraw from the group in March.
The Lagan Valley MLA said: “This issue is about safeguarding children. It is also about ensuring school staff and leaders have clear guidelines and are protected.
“The statement from NICCY and the CLC makes clear that the most recent draft guidelines from the Department, don’t even meet the most basic children’s rights protections.
“We need to ensure there are clear guidelines around restraint and seclusion in schools. This includes upholding a previous commitment to provide legal clarity through the repeal of Article 4(1)(c) of Education (NI) Order 1998, which still allows use of force to maintain 'good order and discipline' in schools.
“Health settings already have guidelines in place and because the Minister refuses to make progress on this issue, there continues to be differing guidelines for health and education which is unworkable.
“The Minister has also shown complete disrespect to these groups, who have been working with Department officials for years, advising them on best practice and providing real life examples of abuses experienced by children. He owes them an apology and most importantly he needs to do the work on this crucial area of child protection.”
The Lagan Valley MLA said: “This issue is about safeguarding children. It is also about ensuring school staff and leaders have clear guidelines and are protected.
“The statement from NICCY and the CLC makes clear that the most recent draft guidelines from the Department, don’t even meet the most basic children’s rights protections.
“We need to ensure there are clear guidelines around restraint and seclusion in schools. This includes upholding a previous commitment to provide legal clarity through the repeal of Article 4(1)(c) of Education (NI) Order 1998, which still allows use of force to maintain 'good order and discipline' in schools.
“Health settings already have guidelines in place and because the Minister refuses to make progress on this issue, there continues to be differing guidelines for health and education which is unworkable.
“The Minister has also shown complete disrespect to these groups, who have been working with Department officials for years, advising them on best practice and providing real life examples of abuses experienced by children. He owes them an apology and most importantly he needs to do the work on this crucial area of child protection.”