Becky Gillespie

ICARS Team - UK Lead (International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS

[Becky Gillespie @ICARSBecky]

Huge thanks to @KeithCooper1973 and @theipaper for exposing the lack of meaningful, timely action by the @educationgovuk to protect disabled children in our schools from unnecessary harm. @bphillipsonMP

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

https://t.co/Kh4h2o3arp Part two of the I Paper Series on restraint in England's schools " Pupils traumatised by restraint in schools failed by ‘wishy-washy’ guidance." ICARS warn of lack of clear rules on physical interventions puts children at risk. #AgainstRestraint @KeithCooper1973 @theipaper

[Becky Gillespie @ICARSBecky]

Please see link below to a research project from a post grad researcher at Manchester University.
Recruiting parents of autistic secondary aged children attending mainstream in England to explore impact of attendance policies on wellbeing.

https://t.co/rOrUW1wsrB

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

Over the coming weeks, ICARS will begin releasing selected evidence from the Department for Education’s 2019 consultation, “Restraint in mainstream settings and alternative provision.”

The consultation ran from 27 June to 17 October 2019.

This evidence is now part of the material being sent to the United Nations.

The Department asked for views on whether guidance was needed for mainstream schools, mainstream post-16 settings and alternative provision.

Years later, the consultation outcome still has not been published.

The responses matter because they show that families, advocates, professionals and organisations were already warning the Department about restraint, seclusion, isolation and other restrictive practices in schools.

Nearly seven years on, the question is simple:

What was the DfE told?

And why has the Department still not reported publicly on what was said in this consultation?

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

People in the UK have told us they could not access this document because of territorial restrictions, so we are releasing it directly here.

This is a May 6, 2026 letter from the New York State Education Department regarding Salmon River Central School District.

NYSED confirmed that, after concerns circulated on social media, it directed the District to immediately cease the use of restraint and seclusion, including the use of wooden boxes, and to remove those boxes from any buildings used for instructional purposes.

NYSED then conducted a monitoring review and identified noncompliance with New York’s rules governing timeout, physical restraint, seclusion, staff training, parent notification, and behavioural intervention plans, including provisions under §19.5 and §200.22.

The findings included use of a prohibited intervention, seclusion, improper use of physical restraint, deficient policies and procedures, and behavioural intervention plans for disabled students missing required components such as baseline data, measurement of behaviour, and progress monitoring.

In England, children in schools still do not have equivalent statutory protections.

There is no clear legal prohibition on restraint or seclusion being used as a behavioural intervention in schools, nor is there a clear statutory requirement that restraint and seclusion be limited to an emergency intervention of last resort.

There is no universal legal duty to record every use of restraint. There is no same-day statutory duty to notify parents after every incident. There is no national statutory framework requiring the kind of enforceable oversight shown in this document.

Instead, restrictive practices remain embedded within the language of “reasonable force.”

New York was able to identify noncompliance because there are legal standards against which practice can be measured.

In England, the law still leaves children exposed.
Document below. #AgainstRestraint

[Becky Gillespie @ICARSBecky]

@DrOliverLewis Thank you for sharing this @DrOliverLewis it makes me very anxious personally for my young adults......

[Oliver Lewis @DrOliverLewis]

The Supreme Court has abolished the 'acid test'. Here's a short video explainer. https://t.co/rV334NCIS2

[Becky Gillespie @ICARSBecky]

@LNER Thank you, I will do that

[Natalie Bennett @natalieben]

"There’s a disproportionate allocation of resources for the detention room. At times, it was so full they couldn’t take the register within the allocated time. Surely the system is broken if you’ve got that many children in detention.”

[Andy @AndyNelson1977]

🧵 New DfE exclusions guidance is live. Tribunals are ruling against schools. SEND families know the law. Do you? A thread for every headteacher and SLT. 👇

[Becky Gillespie @ICARSBecky]

"...an apology is owed — to the pupils whose experiences have now been recognised, to the parents who tried to advocate for them, and to those whose motives were publicly questioned when they tried to raise legitimate safeguarding concerns."

[Andy Leary-May @learymay]

My letter to the Members of the Mossbourne Federation following the safeguarding review is now public: https://t.co/wzB6bltIk4

@bphillipsonMP — if parents believe the practices are continuing, what independent route do they have to raise concerns safely?

[Becky Gillespie @ICARSBecky]

(DR UK) concludes: “The proposals set out in the Schools White Paper and SEND consultation are not transformative.

“They re-invent a broken system into one that’s more broken.

“The only new things on offer are the restriction of support and the attack on our rights.”

[Disability News Service @johnpringdns]

SEND reforms offer only cuts and dismantling of rights, disabled people’s organisation tells ministers
https://t.co/qXjXIOYrqQ

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

MP Tom Gordon @tomgordonLD banged the drum for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) this week, as David Lammy opened the floor for scrutiny on the Youth Justice Reform and Delivery Plan.

https://t.co/ZFQeXzVJKi

[Warwick Mansell @warwickmansell]

"Isolation rooms came up repeatedly across our conversations. Young people were removed from
class and placed alone for the day with a pile of work and no help" New report on NEETs offers criticism of "rigid" discipline systems: https://t.co/IfRP8dPVsK

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

ICARS’ front page for today.
The DfE, Bridget Phillipson and Gemma Collins have achieved the impossible.
They brought everyone together!

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

It is enough.

ICARS has presented the Government with 560 examples of the use of force in England’s schools.

Children who reported they could not breathe.

In multiple DfE meetings on the 2026 guidance, we asked for a legal ban on life-threatening restraint.

They were warned.

They have the evidence.

They know the risk.

If a child is seriously harmed or dies after government has been placed on notice, this will not be an accident. It will raise serious questions about public accountability, legal responsibility, and a foreseeable failure to act.

@bphillipsonMP @ChildrensComm

Enough.

Do your jobs.

X, do your thing. This needs to go viral. #AgainstRestraint

[Daniel Hewitt @DanielHewittITV]

I spent today with a woman whose son has learning disabilities and is stuck in a care home where she worries every day he’s been neglected in a broken care system.

One example of Westminster’s consistent failure to tackle big, systematic problems as it descends again into chaos.

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

Community is everything in this work.

We are so grateful for the allies, advocates, families, survivors, professionals, and organisations we are in community with. This work is hard, but it is made stronger by people who keep showing up, sharing, supporting, and standing alongside children and families.

Happy Friday, and thank you to this incredible community of changemakers. ❤️

[Special Needs Jungle @SpcialNdsJungle]

BIG NEWS! An important legal challenge has just been issued against the Government’s #SENDreform consultation. It argues it's unlawful & unfair, failing to provide sufficient information or ask key questions. We fully support Jessica & Melissa’s claim
https://t.co/dyh79YFUOo

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

Helena Eckles, 53, who had taught at Hall Cliffe Primary School, Wakefield, (Witherslack Group) since November 2023, was convicted at Leeds Magistrates Court for "assault by beating" in March last year, and has now been prohibited from teaching.
#AgainstRestraint
https://t.co/iEuIEFColI

[ICARS (Int. Coal. Against Restraint and Seclusion) @ICARSBanRandS]

ICARS’ first United Nations evidence submission is now open.

We are collecting photographic evidence of injuries and related harm associated with restraint, seclusion, isolation, removal rooms, physical intervention, guiding, mechanical restraint, and other restrictive practices in schools across England.

This evidence will support ICARS’ submission to the United Nations on disability discrimination, safeguarding failures, and the use of restraint, seclusion, and isolation in education.

The form is voluntary, non-identifying, and designed to protect children’s identities. Face, eye, or head injuries may still be submitted where needed. ICARS will crop, blur, or obscure identifying features before use unless explicit consent is given otherwise.

Most questions are multiple choice or checkboxes. The form should take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
Submissions close 31 May 2026.

Your evidence matters.
Their future.
Our collective responsibility.

Submit evidence through the QR code on the image or through the link in the comments.
#AgainstRestraint #SEND #DisabilityRights #UNCRC #UNCRPD