A second disability charity has strongly criticised guidelines published yesterday to ban or limit the use of restraint and seclusion for children in schools.
Inclusion Ireland has said that the long-awaited guidelines - Understanding Behaviours of Concern and Responding to Crisis Situations - have failed disabled and neurodivergent children who remain exposed to abuse within the education system.
The new rules ban the use of seclusion in schools, and state the physical restraint of a child should only be carried out strictly as a measure of last resort, where there is an imminent risk of serious physical harm or injury to the student or the safety of others.
However, the CEO of Inclusion Ireland, Derval McDonagh said the guidelines have fallen "drastically short of what is required".
She also criticised a six-year delay in bringing the measures forward.
"The practices of seclusion and restraint have a devastating impact on children and this has got to be recognised fully by the State, not in words but in action.
She said: "We have heard from children who have been dragged across school floors, physically held against their will, and locked in rooms alone."
Inclusion Ireland is significantly concerned about what it says is the absence of a robust safeguarding emphasis, in particular around the reporting of incidences of restraint.
"The guidelines stipulate that schools report incidences to the National Council for Special Education," Ms McDonagh said.
"The NCSE has no power to investigate such concerns.
"Although there is mention of all schools' obligations under Children First legislation, it is quite conceivable that children will be left in harmful situations with no robust oversight from the State.
"We wrote to the Department of Education in October of this year to express concerns about this serious children's rights issue.
"We have yet to receive a response, and to now see the guidelines published without this fundamental protection in place speaks volumes about how disabled children are treated by the state."
She added: "Being referred to the complaints process in the school is simply not robust enough to safeguard children.
"In no other situation where disabled children are supported (eg: residential services) would this approach suffice".
She said a clear and unambiguous reporting mechanism must feature within the guidelines.
Earlier this year, Inclusion Ireland and AsIAm published a survey which concluded that 35% of disabled children experienced seclusion, while 27% of disabled children suffered restraint at school.
The organisation said they had documented accounts from parents where children were locked in rooms alone, of sensory rooms being used inappropriately, of children dragged across the school floor, and children physically held and/or lifted against their will.
Inclusion Ireland said parents reported feeling powerless and fearing retribution, and the removal of vital supports they have had to fight long and hard for.
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