❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding the use of restraint against disabled, autistic, or intellectually disabled children in WA primary schools. The response reveals a lack of systematic data collection on key aspects of these incidents.
AnsweredQoN 2129Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to reportable
incidences of the use of restraint against disabled, autistic or intellectually
disabled children at Western Australian primary schools from January
2020 to June 2024, and I ask: (a) how many such reportable incidences occurred; (b) will a breakdown of the reportable incidences please be provided, including the type of restraint, how long the
child was restrained for, how many staff were involved, and whether the child’s
family were debriefed about the incident; (c) how many of these incidences resulted in reports of a physical injury such as bruising,
cuts, muscle soreness or other injury, caused by being restrained; (d) will a breakdown of the incidences identified at (c) please be provided, including whether any children were taken to hospital or sought other medical treatment as a result; (e) of the children identified at (a), how many: (i) experienced a reduction in school attendance post-incident; and (ii) are still enrolled in the school; (f) as a result of reportable incidences identified at (a), how many of the families of children have: (i) engaged in formal complaints processes; and (ii) settled their cases financially with the
Department of Education and Western Australian Government; and (g) how many investigations into the reportable incidences identified at (a) are currently ongoing?
incidences of the use of restraint against disabled, autistic or intellectually
disabled children at Western Australian primary schools from January
2020 to June 2024, and I ask: (a) how many such reportable incidences occurred; (b) will a breakdown of the reportable incidences please be provided, including the type of restraint, how long the
child was restrained for, how many staff were involved, and whether the child’s
family were debriefed about the incident; (c) how many of these incidences resulted in reports of a physical injury such as bruising,
cuts, muscle soreness or other injury, caused by being restrained; (d) will a breakdown of the incidences identified at (c) please be provided, including whether any children were taken to hospital or sought other medical treatment as a result; (e) of the children identified at (a), how many: (i) experienced a reduction in school attendance post-incident; and (ii) are still enrolled in the school; (f) as a result of reportable incidences identified at (a), how many of the families of children have: (i) engaged in formal complaints processes; and (ii) settled their cases financially with the
Department of Education and Western Australian Government; and (g) how many investigations into the reportable incidences identified at (a) are currently ongoing?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 October 2024
Responded by
Leader of the House representing the Minister for Education
Response time
9 days
(a) 1,424 incidents reported.
(b) The restraint type, duration of restraint and information about whether families were debriefed are not collected at a system level. The number of staff involved was 2,511.
(c)-(d) Not collected at a system level.
(e) The response to (a) is the number of incidents, not the number of children.
(i)-(ii) Not collected at a system level.
(f)-(g) Not collected at a system level.
Note:
1. Excludes non-government schools.
(b) The restraint type, duration of restraint and information about whether families were debriefed are not collected at a system level. The number of staff involved was 2,511.
(c)-(d) Not collected at a system level.
(e) The response to (a) is the number of incidents, not the number of children.
(i)-(ii) Not collected at a system level.
(f)-(g) Not collected at a system level.
Note:
1. Excludes non-government schools.
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