(Ireland) 850 incidents of restraint reported; 90% were students with special needs

Aug 17, 2026, Irish Examiner: Students with special educational needs restrained 850 times in schools since September

Students with special education needs were physically restrained hundreds of times in schools throughout the year, prompting concerns from advocates about a lack of oversight, transparency, and investigation.

Children in crisis were physically restrained 850 times in school since last September, the vast majority (90%) of whom have special educational needs.

New guidelines on restraint in schools were introduced at the end of 2024.

Since mandatory reporting was rolled out for schools last September, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) documented 850 incidents where physical restraint was used by school staff on students.

In just 16 documented cases, the students did not have special educational needs. A further 766 cases were categorised under “special educational needs”, while the remainder were uncategorised. . . .

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the NCSE released the spreadsheet it uses to log and review reports submitted by schools.

However, it refused to release further "contextual data" about the incidents and redacted certain information it deemed could potentially identify schools, staff, or students. . . .

No data on seclusion 

It also confirmed that it does not hold data on incidents of seclusion in schools, and there is no mechanism for schools to report, as the practice is "strictly prohibited under any circumstances".

Seclusion is defined as "placing a student involuntarily in any environment where they are alone and physically prevented from leaving."

Guidelines from the NCSE tell schools it has "no role in investigating instances of the deployment of a physical restraint in schools", and that the requirement to report is to document the extent of the practice.

Derval McDonagh, chief executive of Inclusion Ireland, said it is deeply concerned by the NCSE’s own admission that it has no power to investigate incidents of restraint or seclusion in schools.

"It is equally concerning that incidents of seclusion are not being recorded with a stated rationale that seclusion is banned," Ms McDonagh said.

A ban does not mean we can assume it is not happening. 

“We still do not know what happened to the children involved in these incidents, what support was put in place afterwards, or whether they continue to experience restraint,” she said.

Inclusion Ireland CEO Derval McDonagh: 'We have no way of knowing the level of harm children are continuing to experience.' 

Restraint can have a profound, long-lasting effect on a child’s life, she added.

"Serious questions remain unanswered. We have no way of knowing the level of harm children are continuing to experience." . . .

Children and families need more than guidelines, she said. "They need proper oversight, accountability, and confidence that when an incident happens, someone has the power and responsibility to act."

Autism charity: Delay is unacceptable

Autism charity AsIAm said it is now almost two years since the guidelines were first introduced and that it is “simply unacceptable” that the Department of Education has failed to publish reported data provided by the NCSE, and that there remains no mandatory training on the use of restraint. . . .