Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
I thank John Mason for lodging amendment 1. The regulation-making power will be used by ministers only where they consider it necessary to ensure that the definitions capture only actions that carry a significant risk of harm. Further safeguards are provided, in that ministers must consult before laying regulations. The affirmative procedure will also apply. Amendment 1 will ensure that the definitions can remain workable, proportionate and fit for purpose, as circumstances and practice evolve. That directly addresses concerns raised by the committee at stage 1, and our trade unions, and I support it.
Amendment 3 will adjust the duty in section 3 that requires schools to inform parents of incidents of restraint or seclusion so that it does not apply to the types of restraint or seclusion that are specified in regulations made under section 4(4A) as non-reportable. That will ensure that the parental notification duty is fully aligned with any changes to the recording and reporting duty in future. To require schools to notify parents of such incidents would be overburdensome and would create unnecessary complexity for teachers.
Amendment 3 will allow ministers to set the types of restraint and seclusion that need not be recorded and reported to parents, should interventions of no concern unintentionally fall within the bill’s definition of restraint and seclusion. I am grateful to our teaching unions, which I met this morning, for suggesting a constructive and practical proposal in this area. Amendment 3 directly addresses their concerns and the additional feedback from the committee.
Amendment 6 is a straightforward but important technical amendment concerning the definition of “school” in the bill. Section 6 adopts the definition of school that is set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. Under the definition in the bill, nursery schools are excluded. However, as the bill is currently drafted, it does not exclude nursery classes within a primary school. I understand that Daniel Johnson’s intention has always been that the bill should not extend to nursery-age children or early years provision. Amendment 6 is therefore in effect a tidy-up amendment to ensure that, whether in a nursery school or nursery class, the provisions of the bill do not apply. That is in line with the clear policy intention behind the bill.
I support amendment 1 and encourage members to support my amendments 3 and 6.