POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT
POLICY
MIKE SIRA-PARFITT
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES MANAGER
MARCH 2006
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POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT
Contents
Page
Policy Statement
3
Purpose
3
Scope
3
Definitions
3-4
Legal Context
Legal considerations
4-5
Mandatory Procedures
Positive Behaviour Support
Risk Assessment
Training
Post Incident Management
Restrictive Physical Intervention
Use of Physical Intervention Skills
Reporting and Recording
Practice Guidance
Advocacy
Complaints
Implementation
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Monitoring & Review
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POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT
Policy Statement
Gloucestershire Children and Young People’s Directorate and
their employees will deliver a service based on the principles of
positive behaviour support. Services will be child centred and
create an environment where children and young people feel
safe, secure and valued.
The service philosophy is based on the promotion of desirable behaviours,
with clear management plans that identify areas for improvement, reward
progress and have explicit responses to behaviours that present hazards.
Purpose
It is the duty of every employee to discharge their duty of care towards
children and young people in an appropriate manner and within an
appropriate values base. It is an expectation that staff will be individually
accountable and responsible for their actions towards young people.
The purpose of this document is to:

Establish the value base and core principles of work with
children accommodated in Gloucestershire County Council
children’s homes.

Encourage a positive, caring and nurturing environment for
children accommodated in Gloucestershire County Council
children’s homes.
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Guide staff in helping children develop appropriate and
socially valid behaviours.
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Promote consistency of response to challenging behaviour.
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Enable staff to discharge their duty of care to children
accommodated in Gloucestershire County Council
children’s homes.
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Ensure the safety of staff working within Gloucestershire
County Council children’s homes.
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Offer appropriate advice and guidance within the service framework
Scope
The scope of this policy is Looked After Children and Young People who are
receiving services from Gloucestershire Children and Young People’s
Directorate children’s homes.
Definitions
A non-restrictive physical intervention is manual guidance to
assist a person in crossing the road safely.
A restrictive physical intervention would be to hold a persons
hand to prevent them from hitting another person.
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This policy applies to the use of restrictive physical interventions.
Emergency Physical Intervention: use of force, which occurs
in response to unforeseen circumstances.
Planned Intervention: in which staff employ a reactive physical
intervention using pre-arranged physical skills detailed in a
Behaviour Management Plan and based upon risk assessment.
A restriction of personal freedom is also a physical
intervention. It is illegal to lock a child or young person in a room
or to prevent them from leaving a building except in
circumstances of high risk or where circumstances allow – such
as accommodation approved by the secretary of state.
Legal Context
The policy must be read in conjunction with and reference to:

Children Act 1989, Guidance and Regulations Volume 4:
Residential Care (1991)

Children Act 2004

United Nations Convention on Human Rights of the Child
1991
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Human Rights Act 1998

Children’s Homes Regulations April 2002

Department of Health: Guide on Permissible Forms of
Control in Children’s Residential Care (1993)

BILD Code of Practice for Trainers in Physical Interventions
(2001)

DoH/DfES Guidance for Restrictive Physical Interventions
(2002)

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Gloucestershire Safer Working Practices Policy 2001

Gloucestershire Post Incident Support Policy

RIDDOR 1995

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
(1999)

Physical Interventions and the Law, Lyons Pimor, BILD
(2004)

Gloucestershire Protocol for Involving Police in Children’s
Homes
Legal Considerations
“Physical restraint should be used rarely and only to prevent a
child harming himself or others or from damaging property”.
(Children Act 1989 Volume 4 Residential Care 1.83 p15)
“When staff have good grounds for believing that immediate
action is necessary to prevent a child from significantly injuring
himself or others, or causing serious damage to property” (DoH
Guidance 4/93 5.61)
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It may be legally defensible to use a physical intervention to
prevent a child or young person:
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Self harming or being self injurious
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Causing injury to other children, adults or staff
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Causing significant damage to property

Committing a criminal offence
A duty of care is imposed on professional carers, they must
therefore, take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions,
which may cause harm. This duty of care applies to all
employees of the authority and they remain personally
responsible and accountable for their actions at all times.
The authority in turn, owes a duty of care as an employer to
those professionals in its employ and to offer appropriate training
and guidance.
It recognises that at times they may face situations where they
have to make a judgement about the use of physical
interventions. Employees have the right to defend themselves
and/or others from harm. Where they decide to do this they
must not use disproportionate force.
It is paramount that where physical intervention is used as a planned or
emergency response, lawful excuse can be demonstrated in that without that
preventative action, significant risk of harm existed for the chid or others.
Mandatory Procedures
All children and young people will:
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Be treated as individuals and their views sought as
appropriate to circumstance, age and understanding
Be supported to live in a safe environment
Be valued in respect of their gender, culture, ethnicity and
sexual orientation
Be supported to make appropriate choices and develop a
healthy lifestyle
Be protected from harm or the risk of abuse
Be encouraged to participate in new activities
Be encouraged to value the contribution of others and
cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds
Be accepted by others regardless of the difficulties they
may be experiencing
Have opportunity for religious observance where requested
Have access to and support of an advocate
Be afforded appropriate privacy
Have access to confidential support and advice
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Children will be offered opportunities to develop a sense of
personal responsibility appropriate to their age and
understanding. The service will foster an environment that
develops children’s sense of personal responsibility.
Staff will foster appropriate adult child relationships, creating
appropriate boundaries and valued relationships. An appropriate
relationship will:
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Be based on mutual respect and positive interaction
Be supportive and active in creating opportunities
Highlight and differentiate between disapproval of
inappropriate behaviour and disapproval of the child
Take account of the child’s personal history and be
sensitive to their needs
Have clear and professional boundaries
Promote self esteem through a variety of interactions and
opportunities
Seek to understand the function of the child’s less socially
valid behaviour
Be truthful, consistent and nurturing
Positive Behaviour Support
All children accommodated in Gloucestershire County Council
children’s homes will have a Placement Management Plan. The
plan will include:
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The desirable behaviours to be encouraged, how they will
be encouraged, who is responsible for the implementation
of the plan and when it will be reviewed
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The undesirable behaviours to be discouraged, how they
will be discouraged, who is responsible for the
implementation of the plan and when it will be reviewed
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The hazardous behaviours that pose risks to the safety of
the child, other children accommodated, staff, visitors and
members of the public, how they will be managed, who is
responsible for the implementation of the plan and when it
will be reviewed.
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Clear references to the evidence that has informed the
Placement Management Plan
When it is appropriate to use sanctions, they must not be used
as a punishment but as a consequence of the behaviour.
Sanctions will be:
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Appropriate given the child’s age, understanding and care
plan
Realistic, enforceable and proportionate to the behaviour
and the consequences of the behaviour
Dispatched within an appropriate timeframe
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Where possible, previously agreed in advance as part of
the Placement Management Plan
Applied consistently with appropriate interaction and
communication
Applied individually, and not to groups of children, or cause
disruption to the lives of other children
Appropriate sanctions include
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Increased supervision
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Verbal reprimand
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Reparation payments of up to 50% of pocket money for no
more than 4 weeks
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Time out
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Additional household chores that are achievable, are not
demeaning and are proportionate to the behaviour
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Curtailment of leisure activities
It is not acceptable to:
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Use any form of corporal punishment
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Use any punishment relating to the consumption or
deprivation of food or drink
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Use any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in
accordance with regulation 15, on- a child’s contact with his
parents, relatives or friends; visits to him by his parents,
relatives or friends; a child’s communications with any of
the persons listed in regulation 15(2); or on a child’s access
to a telephone helpline providing counselling for children.
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Use any requirement that a child wear distinctive or
inappropriate clothes
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Withhold medication, or medical or dental treatment
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Use the intentional deprivation of sleep
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Impose any financial penalty, other than a requirement for
the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by
instalments) by way of reparation
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Use any intimate physical examination of the child
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The withholding of any aids or equipment needed by a
disabled child
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Use any measure which involves any child in the imposition
of a measure against any other child, or the punishment of
a group of children for the behaviour of an individual child
None of the above prohibits:
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The taking of any action by, or in accordance with the
instruction of, a registered medical practitioner or a
registered dental practitioner which is necessary to protect
the health of a child
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The taking of any action immediately necessary to prevent
injury to any person or serious damage to property
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The imposition of a requirement that a child wears
distinctive clothing for sporting purposes, or for purposes
connected with his education or with any organisation
whose members customarily wear uniform in connection
with its activities.
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment will be completed on each child before a child
is admitted to any Gloucestershire County Council children’s
home.
The risk assessment will state
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The likelihood of the assessed hazard
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The severity of the assessed hazard
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The workplace precautions that reduce the assessed
hazard
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The evidence on which the assessment is based
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When the assessment will be reviewed
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Who is responsible for the assessment
Risks can emerge from:
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The interaction between the child and his/her environment
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The impact of the child and his/her behaviour on others
within the children’s home
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The impact of the behaviours of others accommodated on
the child being admitted
The risk assessment will inform the Placement Management
Plan
The Registered Manager of the children’s home will be
responsible for ensuring that risk assessments are completed,
that they inform the Placement management Plan, and are
available and understood by the staff within the home.
For further information please refer to the Risk Management
Policy
Training
All staff will receive training appropriate to the purpose of this
policy and will be outlined within their personal development
plans and identified with their manager, based on personal
training need and development.
Post Incident Management
Following any significant incident it will be appropriate to follow a
process of post incident management.
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Post incident management will ensure that any potential or
existing risk is reduced:
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It will ensure that all appropriate people are informed of the
incident.
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It will ensure appropriate recording of the incident.
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It will ensure that the risk assessment and Placement
Management Plan are reviewed and amended as
appropriate
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It may be ongoing and reflective, informing future practice.
Each Registered Manager will be responsible for ensuring that
an appropriate de-brief is offered to staff, service users and
other people affected by the incident.
Restrictive Physical Intervention
“Restraint is sometimes necessary – but only when someone is
likely to get hurt or property is likely to get seriously damaged”
(Children’s views on restraint, 2005, Dr Roger Morgan OBE,
Children’s Rights Director. Chapter 2 Key point 1)
This guidance sets out to support staff who may be dealing with
potentially difficult situations arising from the behaviour of
children and young people. At times, due to their state of
emotional arousal, previous experiences and expectations,
developmental or cognitive ability, children may behave in ways
which present significant harm to themselves or others.
It is the expectation that all employees will use skills of positive
behaviour management. They will defuse and de-escalate most
situations of potential risk and will only need to resort to the use
of restrictive physical interventions in extreme situations where
risk indicates it’s use. In most part this will be in emergency
situations, but in some circumstances it will be part of a planned
approach to developing more appropriate coping mechanisms.
The aim is to support children in developing appropriate skills
and techniques that enable them to manage their emotions in a
socially acceptable manner.
It is the expectation of the authority that physical interventions
will only be used as a last resort.
Once an unforeseen circumstance has led to a physical
intervention it should be factored into the Behaviour
Management Plan and become a Planned Intervention
It is important to highlight that a level of risk is associated with
any form of physical intervention, for this reason it should be
avoided. Higher levels of risk are associated with:
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Mechanical restraint (this policy does not address this and is
not supported within the authority at present)
Taking a child or young person to the floor or holding them
on the floor
Restricting breathing
Bending, flexing or holding over the joints
Pressure on the neck, chest or abdomen or groin area
Use of Physical Intervention Skills
“Young People need to know they can be restrained” (Children’s
views on restraint, 2005, Dr Roger Morgan OBE, Children’s
Rights Director)
“I got restrained for throwing a newspaper. It would have been
o.k. If it had been a brick.” (Children’s views on restraint, 2005,
Dr Roger Morgan OBE, Children’s Rights Director)
Physical interventions will only be used as a last resort by staff
who have received appropriate training and as directed by the
behaviour management plan or in relation to an emergency
situation that could not be foreseen
GCC staff are trained in the model agreed by the authority.
Training received inn previous employment statutory or
otherwise will be viewed as invalid on taking up post within GCC
and will not be supported.
Registered Managers will be responsible for ensuring that all
staff receives appropriate training and that this training is
updated on an annual basis. Employees will not informally
share techniques nor will they engage in adapting techniques in
any way following training.
Once trained, staff will be responsible for maintaining the level of
skills required, and ensuring the skills are updated as
appropriate. When deciding to use physical interventions
employees will ensure they are:
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Appropriate to the risk presented, given the age, gender
and size of the young person
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Not used in a punitive manner or to cause pain or
psychological harm
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Used in conjunction with appropriate communication
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Used for the minimum period of time
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Enabling the child to take control of the situation
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Legally defensible
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Reporting and Recording
All incidents in which a physical intervention has been used must
be recorded. The Registered Manager must ensure that the risk
assessment and Behaviour Management Plan are reviewed and
amended as appropriate.
If physical interventions are used within a wider incident that
would be regarded as a notifiable event, the appropriate
agencies and professionals will be informed.
Practice Guidance
Advocacy
Consideration should be given to seek an advocate to assist the
young person to understand the process of positive behaviour
management. Please refer to the Advocacy Policy for further
information
Complaints
All children have the right to complain about their care, and to be
taken seriously. If a complaint arises from the use of a physical
intervention it should be recorded and Gloucestershire County
Council’s complaints process followed.
Implementation
Social Services staff will be made aware of this protocol via:
 This Week
 An article in the Directorate Newsletter
 Planning Policy and Projects Website
Monitoring and Review
The Behaviour Management Policy will be monitored by the Residential
Service Manager and reviewed every twelve months in line with the
established policy process.
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