We have been instructed to send a letter before claim to the Secretary of State for Education, challenging the Government’s SEND reforms consultation on the basis that it is unfair and irrational. Further details here: rookirwinsweeney.co.uk/first-steps-...
While children across England unwrap presents this Christmas, disabled children are unpacking something else: fear.
The fear of going back to school.
Because for too many disabled children, school isn’t a place of safety or inclusion. #AgainstRestraint
📢ICARS Person(s) of the Year 2025 Keith Cooper and Will Stewart 🏆
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
Great journalism, as practiced by Keith Cooper and Will Stewart today, and the investigative team at the Hartford Courant 25 years ago, serves the public interest, defends the most vulnerable and makes a difference.
"The UK placed 37th out of 38 OECD countries on this measure"
@droliverlewis.bsky.social @caoilfhionn.bsky.social @jentwright.bsky.social @oliverconway.bsky.social
The children have spoken.
England's children are telling the world what happened to them. It’s time England's lawmakers started listening and acting. #AgainstRestraint
Vulnerable children have been left with “terrible” injuries and trauma because of their treatment by staff at a taxpayer-funded private special school, The i Paper has been told
🔴 @KeithCooper1973 reports trib.al/wEssfQZ
Tonight at 9pm on Channel 4, Jamie’s Dyslexia Revolution airs — and I’m so proud to have been featured.
As someone with dyslexia, it means the world to see
Jamie Oliver championing this issue. Please tune in and be part of the revolution. #DyslexiaRevolution #ComeOnBridget
Very proud of our lawyers Jennifer Wright @jentwright.bsky.social and Katie Sinclair, finalists in this year's Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards - Jennifer for Public Law and Katie for Legal Aid Newcomer. A testament to their fantastic work for our legal aid clients @lalyawards.bsky.social #LALY25
🧵 In an English classroom governed by rigid behaviour policies, a child’s distress is overlooked, not because no one sees her, but because the system doesn't allow space for understanding it. Her torn drawing is more than sadness, it’s the fallout of punitive behaviour policies 👇 #AgainstRestraint
This is what £70,000 of taxpayers’ money on ‘de-escalation and restraint’ training gets you.
ICARS obtained this data via FOI (2018–2023) and submitted it to the SEND National Crisis Inquiry.
Another disabled child restrained. This is systemic. Gov’t must act.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
A primary school child was left alone in a school toilet for 3+ hrs. No food. No water. Staff lied.
There’ll be hearings. But under new guidance?
Nothing changes for kids—just more £ for the Restraint Industrial Complex.
#AgainstRestraint
bit.ly/3RdF2Onint
In England, “good order and discipline” are used to justify restraint, seclusion / isolation. Disabled children are harmed — not helped — by this abuse of power. Manifestation of disability is not bad behaviour. #AgainstRestraint
If harm keeps happening, it’s not a system that’s broken — it’s a system working exactly as designed.
Restraint and seclusion aren’t accidental. They’re embedded.
Time to dismantle the machine.
🧡 #WhatsBehindTheHold #AgainstRestraint
Coming April 2025: The “What’s Behind the Hold” Survey
We’re calling on families in England to share their lived experience of the training behind restraint and seclusion in English schools.
Because behind every hold, there’s a child
A family
A story that deserves to be heard
#WhatsBehindTheHold
If these restraint techniques are “safe,” why is this English Multi Academy Trust monitoring children’s breathing during use? This shows the risk to life for the disabled and neurodivergent children they’re used on.
When breathing must be monitored, safety is already compromised.
#AgainstRestraint
Let’s be clear.
Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) is not for neurodivergent students who do not have a learning disability.
So why are millions in taxpayer money being spent to train as many schools as possible in PBS ?
#RevenueForRestraint #WhatsBehindTheHold
From the Irish Joint Committee on Disability Matters:
"Behavioural interventionist therapies... cannot uphold the UNCRPD principles of autonomy, dignity, right to identity, and freedom from non-consensual or degrading treatment." #RestraintForRevenue #WhatsBehindTheHold
The T-wrap hold was removed from training in 2020.
Yet in 2025, it’s still being used in schools and listed in behaviour policies across England.
Why? Because restraint training is unregulated—no oversight, no accountability, no one watching. 👀 #RestraintForRevenue #WhatsBehindTheHold
Support @againstrestraint.com
The abusive use of restraints stems directly from a lack of training and oversight.
It puts vulnerable ppl at grave risk.
The character of a society is always illustrated in how it protects vulnerable ppl. Or how it does not.
📢 Emma Dalmayne, CEO of Autistic Inclusive Meets (@aimautistic.bsky.social) and part of the ICARS Team on Sky News with her son Damien. ⚠️ This report discusses mental health & suicide. #MentalHealth #DisabilityRights #AgainstRestraint
🔗 Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=SYnm...
"When we ask for accommodations, we are not asking for special treatment or being selfish. We are simply advocating for our needs to be met so that we can fully participate and contribute to the world around us." -The Autistic Teacher.
www.facebook.com/autisticteac... #neurodiversity #autism
CW: Child Abuse. The video shows Alex Cornelius, a non-speaking 10-year-old autistic child, seemingly being slapped by his special education teacher. www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/v...
ICARS appreciate the concern regarding the video of a 12-year-old SEN student being restrained in a London school. At present, this is the only comment ICARS will be making. Our focus remains on supporting the family and advocating for necessary legislative protections. #AgainstRestraint
Blanket behavior policies don’t ‘manage’ behavior—they erase disabled children’s needs.
Children deserve equity, not restraint and seclusion. It’s time to dismantle policies that harm. #AgainstRestraint
This shouldn’t have to be said, but before supporting any proposed legislation, ask for the text and read it first. A good title doesn’t guarantee good policy. Dig into the details—who benefits, who is harmed, and what the long-term impact is. In advocacy, due diligence is everything. #ReadTheBill
