Full-day, blended or train-the-trainer: which format fits which setting?
There is no single best format. Full-day training suits staff who need to practise physical intervention, blended training saves time, and train-the-trainer builds internal capacity, so format follows the school’s actual need.
What are the warning signs of poor physical intervention training?
Warning signs include a provider that opens with techniques rather than risk, treats de-escalation as a warm-up, promises certainty and keeps staff ratios vague. Little is said about recording or review.
What can positive handling training not solve?
Training can improve understanding of prevention, de-escalation and reasonable force, but it cannot replace a clear behaviour policy, fix unsafe staffing or remove the need for judgement. The post offers a fair test.
Why are some physical intervention courses dramatically cheaper than others?
Cheap courses cost less because something has been removed, such as tailoring to the school’s risks, time for practical work, safe staff ratios or the legal and ethical decision making that makes training defensible.
What does positive handling training cost — and what changes the price?
Price is driven less by the length of the day than by the risk being trained for, staff ratios, whether the content is tailored to the school and what support follows the course.
What the 2010 DCSF use of force guidance said — advice for schools
A summary of the 2010 DCSF guidance on reasonable force, now historical but still the clearest account of the legal power, reasonableness, the case against no contact policies and post-incident support.
What the 2002 restrictive physical interventions guidance said — advice for schools
An explainer on the 2002 guidance for health, education and social care settings. Restrictive intervention should be exceptional, planned where foreseeable, proportionate, recorded and reviewed, and not all physical contact is restraint.
What the EHRC restraint in schools inquiry said — advice for schools
The EHRC inquiry asked whether schools know enough about their own use of restraint. Reading it through human rights and equality law, the post argues weak systems, not teachers, are the problem.
What the Ofsted positive environments guidance said — advice for schools
Ofsted’s guidance starts from the child’s rights and experience and says compliance is not enough. It rejects no touch policies and routine restraint, and asks leaders to show how they reduce restrictive practice.
What the 2019 restraint reduction guidance said — advice for schools
The 2019 guidance aimed to make restraint less likely, less frequent and less harmful, starting from children’s rights, treating behaviour as communication and asking schools for positive support, recording and post-incident debrief.