Hansard

I feel strongly that it is a basic human response that, when a child is in distress, hurt or injured, we want to help and protect them. That is one of the most fundamental human reactions. For a parent, that becomes amplified. When we see that our child is hurt, a knot forms in our stomach, we want to act immediately and we fundamentally feel guilty about not having prevented that harm.

Just imagine what it must be like when someone’s child returns home from school with bruises, and it takes days, weeks or months to find out where those bruises came from. That is what is at the heart of the bill and what motivated me to introduce it to Parliament. Too many parents, whose children often have additional support needs and are often non-verbal, are simply unable to find out what happened. Sometimes, they eventually find out that it was the adults who were charged with looking after their children who caused those injuries through the use of inappropriate restraint.

We have to accept that the use of restraint and seclusion will at times be necessary, but, when it is, we have to have the highest possible standards—not only in how it is applied and how those children are treated, but in informing parents. That is what the bill will do and what Parliament will have the opportunity to decide on. It is a huge privilege to stand here as the member who introduced it.

Above all else, we need to recognise Beth Morrison and her tireless campaigning. Her journey started when her son came home in 2010 with bruises. That started a campaign that culminates, I hope, today—this evening—with Parliament passing the bill. After that incident in 2010, Beth lodged a petition and she lobbied. It was not just those processes, however. We all need to recognise Beth’s absolutely winning personality: people cannot say no to her, whether through her perseverance in conversations with all of us in this Parliament, through her sending in all those submissions whenever a committee was looking at anything connected with the topic, and through her tireless work with the press. That is a huge amount of work. I fundamentally believe that this Parliament is about bringing power closer to people, and she stands as testament to the ability to do that. I hope that we will pass the bill this evening and, in so doing, bring about Calum’s law, but we all need to recognise that, although this may be Calum’s law, it is also definitely Beth’s bill. [Applause.]

We also need to pay tribute to Kate Sanger, who has absolutely been Beth’s partner and stalwart, standing alongside her. She has her own experiences with her daughter, Laura, and is an innovator, with the communication passport concept for children with additional support needs. We must pay tribute to such tireless campaigning, because that is something that we need more of. We should all be thinking about how we can support campaigners, making sure that their issues become real and become law, and that we see the change that we all want.

The bill that is in front of us does four critical things. It puts guidance on a statutory footing, ensuring that we have compliance with the standards that we expect. It contains requirements to inform parents so that, when such circumstances arise, parents are told as quickly as possible. It requires clear recording and reporting standards. Above all else, it requires training standards, so that when professionals in the classroom use such techniques, they do so in line with the highest possible standards.

I am pleased that the Government has today published its initial data on the use of the existing guidance, which tells us two clear things. First, it tells us that the overwhelming majority of local authorities and staff in the classroom say that the guidance has been helpful. Secondly, the data highlights the gaps. Only 30 of the 32 Scottish local authorities responded, while two did not. One local authority was unable to provide the data and almost half are not fully reporting data in a way that is compliant with the guidance. Therefore, although it is clear that the guidance is making a difference and bringing about improvements, the data shows us that we still need to go much further and that we need to pass the bill to ensure that we make progress.

In my closing speech, I will touch on some of the concerns that have been raised, particularly by trade unions, which I thank for their contributions. I also thank members around the chamber, including the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Government more broadly, because the engagement that has brought us to this point has been productive.

I look forward to hearing everyone’s speeches. Most importantly, it is a great pleasure to move the motion in my name.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees that the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill be passed.

15:06