Restrictive Practices in Wales: A Practical Guide for Schools and Care Providers
Restrictive practices are not limited to physical restraint. They include a wide range of actions, rules, equipment, environmental controls, and communication methods that stop a person doing something they want to do or encourage them to do something they do not want to do. Some restrictions may be necessary to prevent immediate harm. However, they can affect a person’s dignity, autonomy, physical safety, emotional wellbeing, and trust in the people supporting them. This is why organisations must treat restriction as a serious rights and safeguarding issue rather than a routine method of managing behaviour. The Welsh Government’s Reducing Restrictive Practices Framework applies across childcare, education, health, and social care. It expects organisations to prevent unnecessary restrictions, use person-centred planning, and ensure that any restrictive practice is used only as a last resort to prevent harm. At SLC Training, we help schools, care services, and support organisations develop safer, more consistent approaches based on prevention, de-escalation, lawful practice, and reflective learning. Please note: This article provides general information and should not be treated as legal advice. Organisations must follow the legislation, statutory guidance, commissioning requirements, regulatory standards, and local procedures that apply to their setting. A restrictive practice is any action that limits a person’s movement, freedom, choice, or control over their own life. Restriction may be obvious, such as physically holding someone to prevent immediate injury. It may also be subtle, such as applying a blanket rule that prevents a person making an individual choice without a clear and proportionate reason. The Welsh framework identifies several broad forms of restrictive practice, including: The label used by an organisation is less important than the effect of the practice. Staff should ask whether the action stops the person doing something they want to do, makes them do something they do not want to do, or removes an ordinary level of freedom and choice. The Reducing Restrictive Practices Framework applies across services providing childcare, education, health, and social care in Wales. It covers support provided to children and adults of all ages. This includes settings such as: The framework is non-statutory, but it sets out the Welsh Government’s expectations for policy and practice. Estyn, Care Inspectorate Wales, and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales may consider the approach described in the framework when carrying out inspections. Organisations should therefore treat the framework as a central part of governance, safeguarding, workforce development, and quality assurance rather than as optional background reading. Restrictive practices should only be considered where there is a real possibility of harm to the person or to others and where less restrictive options cannot manage the risk safely. Any intervention should be: A practice does not become acceptable simply because it has been used for a long time, appears in an existing plan, or makes the service easier to operate. Many organisations recognise physical restraint but overlook everyday restrictions that have gradually become normal practice. Examples that should prompt review may include: Not every boundary or safety measure is automatically inappropriate. The question is whether the restriction is individually justified, proportionate, regularly reviewed, and genuinely the least restrictive available option. Schools in Wales should consider the restrictive-practices framework alongside Welsh Government guidance on safe and effective intervention, safeguarding, behaviour, equality, and additional learning needs. Physical force may be lawful in limited circumstances, including where it is necessary to prevent injury, serious disorder, an offence, or damage to property. However, this power does not make restraint an ordinary behaviour-management strategy. Schools should focus on: Estyn’s inspection guidance considers whether the right staff are trained, whether plans are followed, whether restraint records are accurate and reviewed, and whether leaders examine trends, including patterns involving protected characteristics. A calm or sensory space is not automatically restrictive. A person may choose to use a quieter environment to regulate, recover, or reduce sensory demands. The situation becomes more serious when the person is prevented from leaving through a locked door, physical blocking, implied threat, or fear of punishment. This may amount to seclusion, restraint, or a restriction of liberty, depending on the circumstances. Organisations should ask: Changing the name of a room does not change the nature of the practice. Leaders must examine what actually happens in the space and how the person experiences it. Care providers must balance safety with dignity, independence, choice, and control. A risk-averse culture can unintentionally create unnecessary restrictions that support the operation of the service rather than the person’s outcomes. Care Inspectorate Wales expects services to protect people’s rights and support them through the least restrictive approaches possible. Providers should be able to demonstrate that staff understand how to minimise restriction and that care plans clearly explain how identified risks will be managed. Where an adult may lack capacity to make a particular decision, staff must follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and its decision-specific principles. Capacity should not be assumed or rejected solely because of a diagnosis, disability, communication difference, or an unwise decision. Restrictions that may amount to a deprivation of liberty require separate legal consideration and appropriate authorisation. Services should seek specialist advice rather than relying on an internal care plan as sufficient authority. Person-centred planning is one of the most important tools for preventing restrictive practice. It involves the person and those who know them well in decisions about their care, education, support, and safety. A useful plan should explain: Any intended use of a restrictive practice as a last resort should be clearly described in the relevant personal plan or behaviour-support guidance and reviewed regularly. If staff use a restrictive practice that was not anticipated in the plan, this should trigger an immediate review rather than simply being added as a new routine response. Behaviour that challenges a service often communicates distress, unmet need, fear, pain, confusion, sensory overload, frustration, or a loss of control. A positive approach asks what the behaviour means and what must change around the person. It does not begin with the question, “How do we stop this behaviour?” Preventative strategies may include: Reducing restriction is not achieved by removing safeguards without planning. It requires thoughtful assessment, capable staff, and better ways of meeting the person’s needs. Training should begin with values, human rights, prevention, and de-escalation. It should not begin and end with physical techniques. The Welsh framework states that staff who may need to use restrictive practices as a last resort should receive accredited, competence-based training. Prevention and de-escalation training should take place before training in restrictive practices. Effective training should cover: Organisations should avoid blanket technique training. Training should follow a needs analysis based on the people supported, foreseeable risks, environment, and staff responsibilities. Bank, agency, temporary, and newly appointed staff must not be overlooked. Induction, supervision, coaching, and refresher training should reinforce the organisation’s reduction strategy. The Welsh framework expects any use of a restrictive practice to be recorded, including where the practice was anticipated within a personal plan. A clear record should include: Records should be factual, objective, respectful, and completed promptly. Terms such as “attention seeking,” “manipulative,” or “non-compliant” may conceal important information about distress and can introduce bias into later reviews. Any injury resulting from restrictive practice must be recorded and considered through the organisation’s safeguarding procedures. Where there is concern that restriction has been used inappropriately, this should be reported as a safeguarding concern. Restrictive practices can be traumatic for the person, the staff involved, and those who witnessed the incident. Immediate safety is only the first stage of the response. The Welsh framework distinguishes between: These processes should not be treated as the same conversation. A person who is distressed, exhausted, frightened, or dysregulated may not be ready to participate in a reflective review immediately. Support should be individualised and available to the person, staff, and witnesses. The later learning review should be conducted in a blame-free manner by an appropriately experienced person. The review should consider: Recording incidents is not enough. Leaders must analyse the information and use it to improve practice. Useful questions include: Senior leaders should know the range and extent of restrictive practices used across the organisation. Regular audits should examine both formal incidents and restrictions that may have become embedded in everyday routines. Data should support improved quality of life and safer practice. It should not be collected merely to demonstrate administrative compliance. Every organisation should have a clear policy approved by senior leadership and aligned with current legislation, guidance, safeguarding procedures, and sector requirements. The policy should address: The policy must be reflected in daily practice. A well-written document offers little protection if staff do not understand it, managers do not monitor it, or individual plans contradict its principles. Recognising only physical restraint Environmental controls, blanket rules, coercion, isolation, surveillance, and medication practices may also restrict a person’s rights and freedom. Using restriction for convenience Staffing pressures, rigid routines, limited resources, or ease of supervision do not by themselves justify restrictive practice. Copying generic plans Restrictions must be based on individual circumstances. Standard wording can hide the absence of meaningful assessment and involvement. Assuming a care or education plan provides legal authority An internal plan does not replace the need for consent, capacity assessment, best-interest decision-making, or formal legal authorisation where these are required. Training everyone in every technique Blanket physical-skills training can increase risk and does not reflect the Welsh framework’s expectation of a person-centred training-needs analysis. Reviewing the person but not the service Repeated incidents may reflect environmental, cultural, staffing, communication, or leadership problems rather than a failure by the individual. Is the Welsh restrictive practices framework legally binding? The framework is non-statutory. However, it sets out Welsh Government expectations and may be considered by Estyn, Care Inspectorate Wales, and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales during inspections. Organisations must also comply with the legislation and statutory guidance relevant to their sector. Is every restriction unlawful? No. Some restrictions may be lawful and necessary to prevent harm or provide safe care. They must have an appropriate legal basis and be necessary, proportionate, person centred, and the least restrictive available option. Does an individual plan authorise restraint? No. A plan can describe foreseeable risks and agreed responses, but staff must still assess the circumstances at the time. Other consent, capacity, safeguarding, or legal requirements may also apply. Should every restrictive practice be recorded? The Welsh framework expects any use of a restrictive practice to be recorded, including where its use was anticipated in a personal plan. Can restrictive practice ever be used as punishment? No. Restriction must not be used to punish, humiliate, degrade, retaliate, or force compliance for convenience. Who should receive restrictive-practice training? Training should be based on a documented needs analysis. Staff who may need to use restrictive practices as a last resort should receive appropriate competence-based training after prevention and de-escalation training. Reducing restrictive practices is not about removing sensible safeguards or asking staff to ignore serious risk. It is about responding to risk in a way that protects safety while preserving dignity, autonomy, and human rights. A strong organisational approach combines: At SLC Training, we provide physical intervention, conflict management, safeguarding, and related training for education and care settings. Programmes can be tailored to the people supported, the risks within the environment, and the policies and responsibilities of each organisation. Contact SLC Training to discuss a practical, person-centred training programme that helps your team prevent incidents, reduce restrictive practices, and respond safely when serious risks arise.Restrictive Practices in Wales: A Practical Guide for Schools and Care Providers
What Is a Restrictive Practice?
Who Does the Welsh Framework Apply To?
The Core Principle: Restriction Must Be a Last Resort
Restriction Can Be Subtle
Restrictive Practices in Schools
Quiet Rooms, Withdrawal, and Seclusion
Restrictive Practices in Care and Support Services
Person-Centred Planning Reduces Risk
Positive and Proactive Support
What Staff Training Should Include
Recording and Reporting Restrictive Practices
Post-Incident Support and Review
Using Data to Reduce Restriction
A Restrictive Practices Policy Checklist
Common Mistakes Organisations Should Avoid
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion: Safer Practice Through Prevention and Respect
