Restrictive Physical Interventions at Holly House School

How we keep everyone safe, supported and included - Summary Statement

At Holly House School, children are at the centre of everything we do. We are a community built on inclusion, respect, safety and positive relationships. Our approach to behaviour is grounded in trauma‑informed practice, understanding each child’s needs, and helping them feel safe, calm and ready to learn.

Most of the time, children’s needs are met through caring relationships, predictable routines, and skilled de‑escalation. Restrictive physical interventions are rare, and only used to keep people safe.

🌱 Our Values: Inclusion, Safety and Community

Everything we do at Holly House is based on helping children:

feel accepted and understood
build strong, trusting relationships
stay connected to their community
learn the skills they need to manage difficult feelings
feel safe at school, even when things feel overwhelming

Our staff aim to notice early signs of anxiety and help children regulate before things escalate. This is part of our trauma‑informed and positive behaviour support approach.

🤝 What is a Physical Intervention?

A physical intervention is when an adult uses physical contact to help keep a child or others safe.

There are two types — and they are treated very differently.

1️⃣ Everyday, Non‑Restrictive Physical Contact

This includes things like:

guiding a child by the arm
helping them move away from a busy area
offering a hand to steady themselves
a light touch to direct attention

These actions are:

brief, gentle, supportive and part of helping children feel safe

👉 These are NOT restrictive.
👉 They do NOT automatically require written reports to parents.
👉 They are recorded only if the situation meets the “significant incident” threshold (e.g., injury, distress, medical concern or force beyond a brief guide).

2️⃣ Restrictive Physical Interventions (RPIs)

Sometimes, a situation poses an immediate risk — for example, when a child:

may hurt themselves
may hurt another pupil or staff member
is at risk near traffic or dangerous objects
is causing serious damage
is so overwhelmed that they are unsafe

In these moments, staff may use an approved Team Teach hold or other safe strategy to prevent harm. These are always:

a last resort
reasonable (only what is necessary)
proportionate
for the shortest possible time

Your child’s dignity and rights are always respected.

🧠 A Trauma‑Informed Approach

We understand that many Holly House pupils may react strongly when they feel frightened, overwhelmed or dysregulated. Staff:

look for the feelings underneath the behaviour
focus on connection, not control
use calm voices, space, time and reassurance
work closely with pupils and families to identify triggers
use personalised SmartPlans to support each child’s needs

Restrictive interventions are only used when all other strategies have not been enough to keep someone safe.

🏫 What About “Seclusion”?

Holly House does not use seclusion rooms.

Very occasionally, if it would be unsafe for a child to leave a space (for example, to stop them reaching another pupil), staff may temporarily prevent a child from leaving a classroom to keep everyone safe. This is called safety‑based seclusion and is:

supervised at all times
used only until the danger has passed
never used as a punishment

📋 How We Record and Report Incidents

From 1 April 2026, we follow the new national requirements for recording and reporting restrictive interventions. This means:

Every significant use of force is recorded on our BehaviourSmart system.
All restraint and all seclusion incidents are recorded, even if no force was used.
Parents are informed as soon as possible, usually the same day by phone.
Where there has been a Restrictive Physical Intervention a written summary is sent to parents within two working days.
We record: time, place, duration, what happened, why it was necessary, injuries (if any), and what help was offered afterwards.

This ensures transparency, safety and accountability.

❤️ How We Support Children After an Incident

After any incident, we focus on repair and recovery:

children are offered reassurance, space, and emotional support
staff complete a calm and child‑friendly debrief
we help the child understand what happened and rebuild relationships
we review the child’s SmartPlan and support strategies

Our goal is always to learn from incidents so they happen less in the future.

📊 How We Monitor and Improve Our Practice

Senior leaders regularly analyse incident trends to ensure:

interventions remain rare and appropriate
staff are using the safest, least restrictive strategies
pupils with additional needs receive the right support
no group of pupils is being affected disproportionately

Patterns are shared with governors to support strong oversight and continuous improvement.

👨‍👩‍👧 Working Together With Families

Parents and carers are our partners. We will always:

listen to your views
work with you on strategies that help your child
share information openly
keep you fully informed if your child has been involved in any restrictive intervention

We know that children feel safest when the adults in their lives work together as a team.

📄 Want to Know More?

You can request our full:

Physical Intervention & Restrictive Practices Policy Physical Intervention Policy January 2026
Behaviour for Learning Policy
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

Please contact the school office if you would like a paper copy or want to discuss how we keep children safe.