NO MORE: Education Minister Hekia Parata said schools in New Zealand were no longer using seclusion. PHOTO: FILE
A Ministry of Education report has found two Palmerston North schools were using seclusion rooms for children exhibiting difficult behaviour.
West End Primary and Awatapu College were among 17 schools across New Zealand who were found to have used the practice this year.
The education report, Minimising Physical Restraint and
Stopping Seclusion in New Zealand Schools, states these schools had now ceased using the practice, while Education Minister Hekia Parata is hoping to make the use of these rooms prohibited through legislative changes.
The report said seclusion was when a child was put in a room where they could not freely escape. It said this practice could be physically and psychologically harmful, and recommends schools cease using it.
Ms Parata said while all schools had stopped using seclusion, a law change was necessary to ensure schools understood seclusion was not acceptable when dealing with disruptive students.
