Behaviour recording and reporting for special schools

The April 2026 duty: what changed

On 1 April 2026, the DfE’s Restrictive interventions, including use of reasonable force, in schools replaced the 2013 Use of reasonable force guidance. Recording and reporting moved from good practice to a legal requirement, under section 93A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Schools (Recording and Reporting of Seclusion and Restraint) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2025.

Every school in England now needs a procedure to:

• Record each significant incident involving use of force, and each incident of seclusion or restraint, in writing, as soon as practicable and ideally the same day.
• Report each incident to the pupil’s parents in writing, as soon as practicable and ideally the same day.
• Include restraint without physical contact, such as removing a pupil’s walking aid.

The duty applies even when an intervention has been agreed with parents in a behaviour support plan. Governing bodies and proprietors must also take reasonable steps to make sure the procedures are followed, and should regularly review the data.

Read the DfE guidance

Record each incident once, in the pupil’s own record

Staff log an incident in the same record that holds the pupil’s EHCP, ILP and behaviour plan, so the context is already there. The pupil’s SEND status comes from their record instead of being typed again.

The incident form follows the DfE’s minimum record:

• the pupil and the staff directly involved
• the pupil’s relevant needs and SEN status
• time, date, location and approximate duration
• what led up to the incident, known triggers, and the de-escalation tried first
• the type and degree of any force, and any injuries
• why the intervention was judged necessary
• post-incident support, including medical treatment

Seclusion and restraint without physical contact are recorded on the same form, so nothing falls between two systems. Staff can also add the pupil’s account and witness accounts, which help when you review what happened.

Report to parents and carers the same day

The parent report is built from the incident record, so staff don’t write the same thing twice. It includes what the guidance asks for as a minimum: when and where the intervention happened and for how long, why it was needed, the type and degree of any force, and any injuries.

Reports go to parents and carers in writing, and ASEND360 keeps a record of when each one was sent. Leaders can see at a glance any incident that hasn’t been reported yet.

Where a restraint incident is also a significant use of force, it is reported once, as the guidance allows. After a report, you can invite parents to a follow-up conversation and note what was agreed.

From incident to better support

Behaviour support plans that learn. The guidance expects plans to be reviewed after any significant incident. In ASEND360, each incident sits beside the pupil’s behaviour plan and functional assessment, so the review starts with the evidence: triggers, what helped and what didn’t.

Patterns for leaders and governors. Governors should regularly review restrictive intervention data, including whether interventions are used disproportionately with pupils who have SEND or share protected characteristics. ASEND360 shows incidents by pupil, time, location, type and staff member, ready for the governors’ meeting.

Exclusions and suspensions are recorded in ASEND360 too, in their own section.

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