Studio III - Group

Before you read on, a word of caution. If you are looking for purely physical skills based training then we are the wrong training agency for you. We do teach breakaway skills, physical interventions and physical restraint, and we are told that we are very good at it. But with us the emphasis is on doing much more to prevent difficult situations becoming physically challenging in the first place. And that is the way we want it to be. The needs, safety and welfare of the child are always of paramount importance to us, factors that many of our competitors seem to forget in their hurry to teach physical tricks to manage difficult situations. Most difficult situations do not require physical management, in fact most of the time, attempting to physically manage a situation just makes the situation worse for the child and for you.

At Studio 3 we use a systemic approach to challenging behaviours. The technical term is non-aversive, early intervention. The approach is clinically proven and is used in many Children's Services and Schools throughout the UK and Ireland. The approach does not guarantee success in preventing an escalation to physically challenging behaviours but what approach can? Any training agency claiming that they can guarantee 100% success at either preventing situations becoming physically challenging or that a physical restraint will always work are simply misleading you. We can however offer you a range of strategies that will make you feel better about the child and the child feel better about you and can decrease the likelihood of injury to you, the child or other children.

It is our belief that the vast majority of physically violent incidents could have been avoided in the first place if the right early intervention strategies were in place. Unfortunately we often work with staff teams who despite having been "trained" in defusion and de-escalation techniques still use physical interventions and even physical restraint as anything but a last resort. We occasionally still work with staff teams especially those in Pupil Referral Units and Secure Children's Homes who routinely and cynically use physical restraint not because they need to but because they can. Sometimes this is because staff like to exert power over vulnerable young people, we call this child abuse, but more often it is because of the way in which they have been trained.

The three-day training course aims to promote a non-confrontational approach to managing difficult behaviours. The aim on the first day of the course is to introduce a non-violent philosophy. A major focus of the first morning is an examination of legal issues, particularly regarding the use of physical restraint procedures, with an emphasis on the implication of the Children Act and in educational settings, Section 550(A) of the 1997 Education Act. The implications of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms are also examined.

Some of the main causes of difficult behaviours are also discussed on the first day. Additionally, debriefing staff after incidents and an examination of 'feelings that surround the aftermath' are explored. Finally, a non-confrontational model for defusing difficult behaviours, termed the 'low-arousal approach' (McDonnell, McEvoy & Deardon 1994), is presented to the participants.

The second day of the course introduces the development of non-physical reactive plans and non-confrontational physical skills. It is our view that the use of physical skills in the management of difficult behaviours is very much the last resort and no matter how gentle they are, we would still prefer not to use them at all. However, being practical there are times when they may be necessary. It is a common misconception that harsh (and sometimes painful) physical procedures are needed to manage violent and aggressive behaviours. Fortunately, this is not the case.

On the Studio 3 course a number of physical techniques are taught, however these are based on current applied research and are specifically designed for use in this area and do not involve the use of pain or locking of joints in any way. These techniques include non-violent methods of avoiding being punched and/or kicked, hair pulling (front and rear) and airway protection. In the afternoon participants demonstrate non-physical de-escalation skills by use of role-play and group discussion. The acceptability of physical restraint procedures is also examined. Course participants are strongly encouraged to discuss their own personal experiences of implementing restraint procedures.

The final day allows time for practising the 'low arousal approaches' and gentle physical skills together. The last element of the course is learning the restraint procedure. This comprises participants learning to walk a young person around in a safe way, allowing them time to calm down. This technique of using movement to defuse a situation has the added benefit of not employing any form of immobilisation which in itself can be highly arousing. We want to emphasise that the philosophy of the course is to use restraint as little as possible and that often, if we know what to do, we can back off and defuse an incident. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that, realistically, there may be occasions when restraint may be needed. This method of restraint allows carers to talk to the young person who can then choose to calm down and so be let go, giving the young person some choice and control. Finally, course members are expected to demonstrate the use of this skill by role-play. Participants are then given time to debrief at the end of the training course.