Children and staff have been injured by the use of “high-risk restraint techniques” at a Fife school, inspectors have revealed.
Hillside School in Aberdour was told to make urgent improvements in January after the Care Inspectorate raised “serious and significant concerns”.
The full report was not revealed at the time, but Hillside was warned it could have its registration cancelled – potentially forcing closure.
Now full details of what inspectors found have been published.
A report into the inspection rated the school unsatisfactory – the lowest possible ranking – for how well it supports children and young people’s rights and wellbeing.
Hillside School: ‘Serious concerns’ as pupils and staff injured during restraint
The report stated: “We had serious concerns for the safety of young people due to the service’s unacceptable restraint practice.
“The service regularly used high-risk restraint techniques and did not follow best practice guidance.
“Young people’s plans were not detailed or individualised enough to provide clear guidance to staff about safe strategies to use in supporting them.”
It continued: “Young people and staff had at times been injured during restraint and we were concerned about the lack of analysis and reflection of incidents.
“There was limited learning and poor practice remained unchanged which left young people at increased risk of being subjected to unnecessary use of restraint.”
Inspectors also identified “serious concerns” about the capacity of the school to meet the needs of some young people.
It added: “We found that young people’s emotional and physical safety was seriously compromised due to the staff team’s reactive approach to care and limited understanding of young people’s needs.
“This meant that some young people felt unsafe, and lacked confidence in staff’s ability to look after them.”
The Care Inspectorate demanded that the school – which offers year-round residential care and education for people aged eight to 19 who have complex or additional support needs – make a series of improvements throughout February and March.
‘Hillside School is working towards meeting the improvements’
Responding to the publication of the full inspection report, a spokesperson for Hillside School said: “Hillside School is committed to making the necessary improvements detailed in the Care Inspectorate’s Improvement Notice.
“We are grateful to the Care Inspectorate for their ongoing support.
“Hillside School is working towards meeting all of the specified improvements within the required time scales.”
A former employee of the school previously told The Courier she believed some staff had “enjoyed” using restraint on pupils.
