Beth Morrison is a mother convinced that the treatment her child received in his special school almost a decade ago was wrong and determined that the law must change in order to protect other children with additional support needs.
Earlier this month, days before we revealed Tes Scotland‘s 10 People of the Year, she finally got news she had been waiting years to hear after it was announced that human rights guidance on restraint and seclusion in Scottish schools is to be published, in a bid to protect some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children.
Her son Calum Morrison was restrained several times at his special school after misbehaving. Once was for refusing to get off a specially adapted bicycle in the school’s gym hall. It was his first time on a bike, which Morrison says explained his reluctance to dismount. However, as a result of his refusal, Calum found himself restrained face down on the floor and then strapped into a chair as punishment and left to watch an egg timer.
Morrison has now become a champion for families who find themselves embroiled in similarly disturbing situations and to date has collected over 600 testimonies - the bulk of them involving Scottish schools. Her conclusion is that restraint and seclusion is not happening to “big, burly, out-of-control, violent teenagers” but to “little children at primary school with a median age of just six”.
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Related: New guidance on restraint and seclusion in schools
Commissioner’s report: Commissioner calls time on seclusion in schools
Morrison on restraint: Restraint is not happening to ‘burly teens’
An investigation by the children’s commissioner Bruce Adamson, published in December, found the situation regarding restraint and seclusion in Scottish schools to be so chaotic that he called for all schools to stop using seclusion, as a matter of urgency, until national guidelines and standards were in place.
A ‘fierce champion’ of children
Morrison said that after the commissioner’s report was published that she felt her son had finally been heard. However, guidance to satisfy the commissioner was slow to materialise, and Morrison continued to push for it via a petition. She finally achieved her goal last week. Speaking at the Scottish Parliament in November, Adamson said that Morrison had acted as a “fierce champion” and “human rights defender on behalf of children across Scotland”.
As for Calum, he spent the latter years of his secondary education at the mainstream Carnoustie High School, and was never restrained or secluded. Why? The staff there had a different mindset and Calum was happy, says Morrison, and “happy children do not challenge”.
