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30 June 2021


June news from the Equality and Human Rights Commission


Restraint in schools must be monitored on par with exclusions


The report from our inquiry into the monitoring of restraint in English and Welsh schools has recommended that its use should be monitored, recorded and analysed with the same rigour as exclusions.


Statistics on exclusions at national and local levels are published annually, however there is no mandatory requirement for schools in England and Wales to monitor and record the use of restraint. Our inquiry found that, whilst the majority of schools we surveyed has a policy of recording the use of restraint, the absence of clear guidance on what to record has led to inconsistency and uncertainty for schools and a lack of transparency for parents and carers about why, where, when and how often children are being restrained while at school.


Restraint can include physical, mechanical and chemical forms of control, coercion and forced isolation. It can have a significant impact on children and should be used only as a last resort.


We found that a lack of data and guidance hinders schools’ ability to effectively monitor and understand the use of restraint. It also prevents inspectorates (such as Estyn and Ofsted) from being able to assess how a school is performing in relation to restraint.


We also found that many schools which do monitor, record and analyse their use of restraint had been able to use this information to effectively de-escalate future situations, minimised their use of restraint over the long term.


Our report includes several recommendations for the UK and Welsh Governments, for schools in England and Wales, and for the inspectorates Ofsted and Estyn.


Read the report [link removed]


How schools get it right on restraint - good practice case studies


During the course of our inquiry into how schools are monitoring the use of restraint, we heard from various schools where monitoring, recording and analysing information on restraint was being carried out robustly. Many schools use this information to develop positive behaviour support, effective de-escalation techniques and pupil-centred plans which support both staff and pupils.


The case studies published alongside our inquiry report give examples from a range of settings across England and Wales: special schools, mainstream primary and secondary schools and alternative providers.


Read the case studies [link removed]


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Best practice for Gender Pay Gap reporting


All organisations which employ 250 or more people must publish their gender pay gap data every year. Whilst employers have until 4th October to report data from 2020/21, business leaders are being urged to collate their data as soon as possible, so they can use this for meaningful action planning to address any gaps.


In this short video [link removed]  Ife Onwuzulike from the CBI explains why it's important now more than ever to report gender pay gap data.


Meanwhile, the CMI brought together leaders from a range of organisations to discuss what best practice gender pay gap reporting looks like [link removed] .


Read their thoughts [link removed]


Joint call for the introduction of mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting


We have joined forces with the CBI and the TUC to call on the Government to set a clear timeframe for the introduction of ethnicity pay gap reporting to help ethnic minority workers reach their full potential in the workplace


In a letter to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove - signed by our Chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner, CBI Director General Tony Danker and TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady - the three organisations say that “Introducing mandatory pay reporting on ethnicity would transform our understanding of race inequality at work and most importantly, drive action to tackle it where we find it.”


Find out more [link removed]


Protecting the freedom to hold a belief


Our Chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner has reflected on the reasons behind our intervention into the Employment Appeal Tribunal case of Forstater v CGD Europe and others [link removed] .


She writes about the controversy surrounding the case and the difference between holding a belief and how that belief is manisfested. Ultimately, having the freedom to hold a belief is a fundamental part of our democratic society and it should be something we are all fighting to protect.


Read more [link removed]


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Equality and Human Rights Commission
Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, EC4Y 8JX


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