USE OF QUIET/REFLECTION ROOMS
POLICY & GUIDANCE
Publication Date: August 2015
Review Date: August 2016
Reviewed and approved on behalf of the proprietor, Kedleston Schools Ltd, 19 August 2015
ARC SCHOOL NAPTON
USE OF QUIET/REFLECTION ROOMS POLICY & GUIDANCE
CONTENTS
1.
Introduction
2.
Best practice for the use of quiet/reflection rooms in schools
3.
Quiet/reflection room contents
4.
Helping students to understand how to use the quiet/reflection room
5.
Procedure for the use of the quiet/reflection room
Appendices
1.
Arc School Napton facilities: reflection rooms and learning zones
2.
Flow Chart
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ARC SCHOOL NAPTON
USE OF QUIET/REFLECTION ROOMS POLICY & GUIDANCE
Arc School Napton is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
and requires all staff to act in the best interests of our young people at all times.
1. Introduction
Guidance in respect of the use of quiet/reflection rooms and learning zones has been
developed in order to clarify the appropriate use of these two very different resources.
Learning zones are modified areas within a school, which have been created to
provide young people with autism and other learning differences, with an environment
that offers limited/low sensory stimulation in terms of people, sounds, light, noise and
movement.
These areas are designed to offer young people an opportunity to access learning, on
a one-to-one basis, away from the overload of a busy classroom setting.
Young people who benefit from these facilities often present challenging and disruptive
behaviour in a traditional classroom; which in turn may lead to them being taught in an
alternative environment, for at least part of the school day.
In practice, young people will be offered the opportunity to learn in both classrooms
and learning zones, in accordance with their best interests and preferences.
From time to time, learning zones may be used to provide young people with the space
and time to calm down with a member of staff.
Quiet/reflection rooms are not a teaching rooms. However, there are occasions where
a pupil chooses to complete their work in the quiet room and staff will support this
provided it is done in a safe and appropriate manner. These modified areas have been
created to provide a place of safety for young people, experiencing overwhelming
emotions such as anxiety, fear, frustration and anger, in which they can calm down.
Young people must never be left be unsupervised in a quiet/reflection room, under any
circumstances
While it may be appropriate to allow the young person to calm on their own, staff must
be able to see the young person via a window or an open door and this should be
used to keep the young person under constant observation. At Arc School Napton
both our quiet rooms have surveillance cameras which provide another method of
observing the young person.
This policy document focuses on the use of quiet/reflection rooms to allow a young
person to calm as safely and effectively as possible.
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2. Best practice for the use of quiet/reflection rooms in schools
There are times when some young people need access to a quiet, calming and
reflective space. A quiet/reflection room is a sensory-controlled area. The purpose of
which is not exclusion or punishment. Rather, it is a space to help a young person to
calm down and begin to use self-regulation skills.
Any use of a quiet/reflection room must form part of the young person’s individual
behaviour plan and must be agreed by a representative of the school leadership team
and parents/carers and their agreement recorded. Young people must be consulted in
accordance with their age and level of understanding.
In optimum circumstances the young person will choose to access the quiet/reflection
room, sometimes with a prompt from staff. In exceptional circumstances, when the
child is unable to make an informed choice, staff may need to accompany the young
person to the quiet/reflection room using agreed positive handling strategies including
restrictive physical intervention, where appropriate.
The quiet/reflection room must only be used after all in-class behaviour management
strategies have been exhausted. A decision to use physical intervention to support the
young person in accessing the quiet/reflection room must be based upon a dynamic
risk assessment and must be conducted in accordance with our RPI policy. The use of
force is likely to be legally defensible when it is required to prevent:
• self-harming
• injury to other young people, or staff
• damage to property
• an offence being committed, and
• in school settings, any behaviour prejudicial to the maintenance of good order and
discipline within the school or among any of its students.
In these instances the quiet/reflection room can be used as a means of:
 helping the student to manage their own emotional state;
 reducing the danger to staff/students and or removing the disruptive behaviour from
the body of the school;
 reducing the need for prolonged/use of physical intervention.
It is anticipated that staff dealing with a particular young person are fully aware and
competent in communicating effectively with the individual. This may include, for
example, use of PECS, Makaton, visual cues or verbal communication; details of which
will be included in the individual behaviour plan.
All staff are obliged to familiarise themselves with the current risk assessment and
behaviour management plan for every young person with whom they work.
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3. Quiet/reflection room contents
As mentioned above, quiet/reflection rooms are not teaching rooms. Outlined below
are a number of aspects to consider in creating a quiet/reflection room:
Staff must be able to see the young person at all times.




Lights should be low.
Our quiet rooms have soft carpeting and seating areas.
Soft blankets and covers can be helpful for children who like to cover themselves up.
The young person may request sensory items as required
In some cases, soft padding may be used on the walls to provide additional protection
for young people who become very agitated.
 External windows must be tinted.
4. Helping students to understand how to use the quiet/reflection room (Snug and Den)
1.
Introduce the quiet/reflection room in a positive, proactive way that helps the
young person to understand the benefits of using such a resource.
2.
Explain to the young person that the room can be used anytime they feel they are
starting to feel upset, worried or angry. Use positive and simple language
throughout the explanation.
3.
Explain that the quiet/reflection room will be for their exclusive use when they are
using it.
4.
Staff should avoid entering the quiet/reflection room unless absolutely necessary,
i.e. to keep the young person safe, or in response to a young person’s request for
the adult to join them in the room.
5.
The quiet/reflection room must not be used on a ‘scheduled’ basis. It should be
used as and when a young person is starting to show signs of anxiety or distress or
demonstrating that they need a break to avoid a critical incident and to regain a
sense of calm.
6.
The best possible outcome of using a quiet/reflection room is when a young person
learns how to ‘self-regulate’ independently and is able to calm themselves down.
7.
The quiet/reflection room needs to be used with a calm and positive approach in
order to help reduce anxiety. This means adopting a planned and sensitive
approach to supporting the young person in approaching, using and leaving the
room.
8.
When introducing the quiet/reflection room, the young person should initially be
asked to spend five to ten minutes in the area. They can lie down on something
comfortable (e.g. on a bean bag) or they can stand and move around if they want
to. This introductory session should be used in a proactive manner, when the young
person is calm and receptive, in order to help them feel good about being there.
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9.
Following several sessions when the young person has been able to spend time in
the room while in a positive and settled frame of mind, the next step is to explain to
the young person that the quiet/reflection room will also be available when they
need a place to calm down, to help them stop worrying or to help them to feel less
angry.
10. It is important to explain that sometimes a member of staff will suggest that ‘this is a
good time to use the quiet/reflection room’ or the young person themselves may
feel that ‘this is a good time to use the quiet/reflection room’.
11. Staff must then be alert to warning signs that the young person may need a break
and remind the young person that this may be a good time to use the
quiet/reflection room.
5. Procedure for the use of the quiet/reflection room
1.
When a member of staff notices that a young person is becoming anxious or
agitated, the child should be given reasonable opportunity to calm using the
strategies detailed in the school’s behaviour policy and/or in the young person’s
individual behaviour plan.
All staff are obliged to familiarise themselves with the current risk assessment and
behaviour management plan for every young person with whom they work.
2.
If the young person’s behaviour continues to cause concern and is reaching a
point where they are affecting other students and/or they become a danger to
themselves or others, the individual should be prompted to make ‘the right choice’
and comply with reasonable requests from staff.
3.
Other staff should be alerted of the potential need for support, as appropriate.
4.
If the young person continues to be non-compliant, staff should suggest ‘this is a
good time to use the quiet/reflection room’.
5.
If the young person continues to be disruptive and uncooperative, subject to a
dynamic risk assessment, one of the five legally defensible criteria (as in section 2
above) apply, staff may consider it necessary to escort the young person to the
quiet/reflection room using an approved physical intervention technique (see RPI
Policy).
6.
Once in the quiet/reflection room and away from the body of the school, staff
involved should try to de-escalate and resolve the situation as soon as reasonably
possible, with the young person spending the minimum time necessary in the
quiet/reflection room.
7.
When the quiet/reflection room has been used, the incident must be recorded in
accordance with policy, procedures and guidance.
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8.
While a young person is in the quiet/reflection room, senior staff must ensure that
appropriate staffing is available to support the young person.
Young people must never left be unsupervised in a quiet/reflection room, under any
circumstances.
While it may be appropriate to allow the young person to calm on their own, staff must
be able to see the young person via a window or an open door and this should be
used to keep the young person under constant observation.
Young people must never be locked in a quiet/reflection room, under any
circumstances.
Young people must not be left for more than 15 minutes without the offer to re-engage.
Re-engagement must be offered as soon as the young person has calmed down
sufficiently for interaction to take place.
Young people must not be left in a quiet/reflection room for more than 60 minutes in
any one period of intervention.
A designated member of staff must have responsibility for the management of a young
person using the quiet/reflection room at all times. If that member of staff needs to
hand over to a colleague, then a formal handover procedure must be conducted and
details recorded.
All use of the quiet/reflection room must be logged in writing with timings, antecedents,
actions, staff names and transfers recorded.
If a young person attempts to leave the quiet/reflection room before they are calm,
staff should use all non-physical means possible to support and encourage the young
person to stay. In extreme cases, when the young person is very angry and unable to
process requests, staff will need to conduct a dynamic risk assessment and may use a
restrictive physical intervention, where appropriate.
Any restrictive physical intervention must be recorded in accordance with our RPI
policy and relevant information recorded in the young person’s individual behaviour
plan and risk assessment.
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APPENDIX 1
Flow Chart
Young person exhibits
disruptive, challenging or uncooperative behaviour
Self-reflection time or time to reflect/discuss (or to
agree a suitable time to reflect) with constant
monitoring until safe and settled behaviour is
established
Restorative work in a learning zone
Re-integration into learning, with or without support.
Once the room has been emptied,
the door must be propped open, tidied and the lights switched off.
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APPENDIX 2
Arc School Napton facilities: reflection rooms and learning zones
Reflection Rooms
 Reflection room 1 – The Snug
 Reflection room 2 – The Den
Learning Zones
 1:1 room
 Library
 Key workers office
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