Reading List

These official sources support the course content and are useful for supervision, policy review, refresher learning and service development. England sources are included where they offer specific children's homes, inspection or restraint guidance; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland sources are signposted separately so staff do not assume rules are identical across the UK.

England core guidance

• Children's homes regulations, including quality standards: guide
  Official England guidance on the Children's Homes Regulations 2015, covering behaviour management, restraint, safeguarding and leadership expectations.
• Social care common inspection framework (SCCIF): children's homes
  England inspection framework setting out expectations on de-escalation, boundaries, restorative practice, restraint and reducing unnecessary police involvement.
• Positive environments where children can flourish
  Official guidance on positive culture, restraint and restrictive interventions involving children and young people.

Wales signposting

• Reducing restrictive practices framework
  Welsh Government framework on reducing restrictive practice across childcare, education, health and social care settings.
• Reducing the criminalisation of children in care and care leavers: all Wales protocol
  Welsh guidance on avoiding unnecessary criminalisation and responding proportionately to incidents involving care-experienced children and young adults.

Scotland signposting

• Care Inspectorate: Report on restrictive practices
  Scotland signposting on restrictive practices in residential care and the national direction of travel on reduction.
• Holding Safely: A Guide for Residential Child Care Practitioners and Managers
  Scotland-specific guidance on physical restraint, lawful practice and safety in residential child care.

Northern Ireland signposting

• Minimum Standards for Children's Homes - April 2023
  RQIA standards for Northern Ireland children's homes, covering behaviour support, restrictions, staffing and records.
• Northern Ireland Framework for Integrated Therapeutic Care for Care Experienced Children and Young People
  Framework on relational, therapeutic and trauma-informed care across settings.

For daily practice, start with the child's current behaviour support plan and your home's restrictive-practice policy, then consult these official sources when broader guidance is needed.