The Children’s Commissioner for England is launching a probe into secure and specialist settings for children.
Anne Longfield will assess the treatment of children with learning disabilities and autism in settings such as children’s homes and mental health hospitals.
Visiting secure units: Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield
Longfield is very concerned about the treatment of children with challenging behaviour in secure mental health units.
Every secure unit visited
Over the past 18 months she has visited all secure units to better understand their experience.
She said she is “concerned” about some children being placed in “inappropriate secure settings”.
Longfield also has concerns about their treatment in secure settings and that they are held for too long because of a lack of community provision.
A spokesperson for the commissioner said visits may also take in special schools. However, these visits would not be unannounced.
Concerns about restraint
Last year a BBC investigation raised concerns about restraint in special schools.
It revealed there were 13,000 restraints over three years in special schools. These restraints caused 731 injuries.
A BBC Radio 5 live freedom of information request reportedly revealed children were pinned to the floor and strapped to chairs.
However, the report suggested actual figures were likely to be far higher. This was because fewer than one in five councils in England, Scotland and Wales provided data.
Sir Stephen Bubb is the charity leader behind the landmark investigation into the abuse of patients with learning disabilities and autism at Winterbourne View, near Bristol.
‘Barbaric’
Bubb, who heads independent think tank Charity Futures, described the use of restraint on those with learning disabilities and autism as “barbaric”.
He said: “There’s a culture of physical restraint, which I think is particularly evil.”
He has visited community homes that operate a ban on restraint. These show it’s possible to manage care without resorting to restraint, he argues.
Related:
- Social workers aim to cut hospital stays
- Hospital brought out of special measures
- Still stuck in mental health hospitals
- Spotlight on hospital care
- NHS watchdog calls for care near home
Published: 14 April 2018
