New Zealand Gazette – 2017 – No. 89

Page 8

✨ Guidelines for Physical Restraint in Schools



NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 89 — 1 SEPTEMBER 2017

  • Focus on communicating respect and your desire to help.
  • Keep verbal interactions respectful.
  • When appropriate, give the student clear choices and/or directions to help them feel more secure and regain control.

Think ahead in case the situation escalates

  • If escalation occurs, move further away.
  • Make sure you have an exit plan.
  • Constantly reassess the situation.
  • Send for help if necessary.

What may escalate the behaviour

  • Threatening the student.
  • Arguing or interrupting.
  • Contradicting what the student says – even if they are wrong.
  • Challenging the student.
  • Trying to shame the student or showing your disrespect for the student.

Guidance if you have to use physical restraint

What to do if prevention and de-escalation do not work

  • Physical restraint should only be applied by teachers and authorised staff.
  • There may be situations when an unauthorised staff member intervenes and physically restrains a student, for example when there are no teachers or authorised staff nearby.
  • The Education Act 1989 will not cover the intervention of an unauthorised staff member who physically restrains a student. There may be other justifications for intervening available in legislation or common law that apply.
  • If teachers and authorised staff members do not have the skills or confidence to safely restrain a student, call for help.
  • Call the police when a student cannot be managed safely and the imminent danger to students, staff or themselves remains, after all alternatives have been explored.
  • All staff should be aware that physical restraint is a serious intervention to be used when no other, less severe, options are available.

Do not use these restraints

  • Physical restraint that inhibits the student’s breathing, speaking or main method of communication, for example physical restraint that inhibits a student’s ability to use sign language.
  • Prone (face-down) physical restraint.
  • Pressure points and pain holds.
  • Tackling, sitting, lying or kneeling on a student.
  • Pressure on the chest or neck.
  • Hyperextension (bending back) of joints.
  • Headlocks.
  • Using force to take/drag a student, who is resisting, to another location.
  • Restraint when moving a student from one place to another – trying to get them into a van or taxi, for example – when they are in an escalated state, as this may escalate them further.

Monitor wellbeing throughout when applying physical restraint

  • The physical and psychological state of the student being restrained should be continuously monitored by


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Online Sources for this page:

Gazette.govt.nz — PDF NZ Gazette 2017, No 89




✨ LLM interpretation of page content

🎓 Guidelines for Registered Schools in New Zealand on the Use of Physical Restraint (continued from previous page)

🎓 Education, Culture & Science
Physical Restraint, Guidelines, Registered Schools, Student Safety, Staff Wellbeing, Teachers, Authorised Staff, Legal Framework, Seclusion Ban, Board Responsibilities, Communication, Review, Good Practice, Risk Assessment, De-escalation Techniques, Physical Contact, Preventative Techniques, De-escalation Techniques, Student Support, Escalation Management, Restraint Techniques, Police Intervention