Positive handling and safeguarding go hand in hand when school staff are faced with challenging or distressed behaviour. Responding appropriately involves much more than managing the immediate situation. It also means understanding a pupil’s individual needs, recognising potential safeguarding concerns and ensuring the right action is taken afterwards.
With the Department for Education’s updated guidance on restrictive interventions taking effect in April 2026, followed by Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 in September, schools have an important opportunity to review how their positive handling practices connect with wider safeguarding responsibilities.
In this article, we explore what the latest guidance means for schools and the key areas leaders should consider when reviewing their policies, procedures and staff training.
KCSIE 2026: What Has Changed for Positive Handling and Safeguarding?
The DfE’s April 2026 guidance introduced clearer expectations around restrictive interventions, including the use of reasonable force and seclusion. It places greater emphasis on prevention, de-escalation and the importance of recording and reporting restrictive interventions in accordance with the relevant requirements.
KCSIE 2026 reinforces the wider safeguarding responsibilities that schools must consider alongside these requirements. This matters because an incident involving challenging or distressed behaviour may reveal considerably more than the behaviour itself. A pupil’s behaviour, an injury, something they say during or after an incident, or the circumstances leading up to an intervention could indicate a safeguarding concern that requires further action.
Restrictive Intervention Records Do Not Replace Safeguarding Records
Accurate recording following a restrictive intervention is essential. Schools need to follow the relevant recording and reporting requirements, including documenting what happened, why intervention was necessary, what de-escalation was attempted and any injuries or subsequent actions.
However, staff should also ask a separate question: Has anything about this incident raised a safeguarding or child protection concern?
For example, this could include:
- A disclosure made by the pupil
- An unexplained or concerning injury
- Indications of abuse, neglect or exploitation
- Discriminatory treatment
- Concerns about the conduct of an adult
- New information about the pupil’s circumstances or welfare
Where a safeguarding concern is identified, the school’s child protection procedures must be followed and the concern reported promptly to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or deputy.
Recording a restrictive intervention does not replace the responsibility to identify, report and appropriately record any safeguarding concerns arising from the incident.
Consider What Behaviour May Be Communicating
One of the most important principles underpinning safeguarding practice is maintaining a child-centred approach. Behaviour should not automatically be viewed in isolation. Staff may need to consider whether a pupil’s behaviour or distress could be connected to wider circumstances, including abuse, neglect, exploitation, trauma or another safeguarding need.
This does not mean that every behavioural incident is a child protection concern. It means staff need the awareness and confidence to recognise when there may be more happening beneath the surface.
An important change under KCSIE 2026 is that all school and college staff, including those who do not work directly with children, are now expected to read Part One of the guidance in full. The shortened alternative previously available to some staff has been removed. This reinforces the principle that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, from teachers and classroom support staff to office administrators and other members of the school community.
All staff should understand how to recognise concerns, follow safeguarding procedures and share relevant information appropriately.
Pay Particular Attention to SEND and Other Vulnerabilities
The DfE’s restrictive-intervention guidance makes clear that decisions must take account of individual pupils and their needs. This is particularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), mental health needs or medical conditions.
Communication difficulties, sensory needs, trauma and other vulnerabilities can affect both how a pupil expresses distress and how they experience physical contact or restrictive intervention. Schools should therefore consider reasonable adjustments and proactive support rather than waiting until behaviour reaches crisis point.
Individual behaviour or support plans can be particularly valuable for pupils who require additional support. These should be reviewed following significant incidents to identify whether anything could be changed to reduce the likelihood of further restrictive interventions. The aim should always be to prevent and minimise the need for restrictive intervention wherever possible.
Build an Inclusive and Anti-Discriminatory Culture
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 places importance on inclusive and anti-discriminatory safeguarding practice. Schools should recognise that children may experience different and overlapping forms of harm, including racism, prejudice and discrimination.
For schools reviewing positive handling, this provides an opportunity to ask – ‘Are restrictive interventions being used disproportionately with particular groups of pupils?’ Looking at individual incidents is important, but so is identifying wider patterns.
Schools may wish to consider whether their restrictive-intervention records indicate disproportionate use involving pupils with SEND or other groups, and whether any patterns require further investigation.
Accurate incident recording, regular review and appropriate oversight can help school leaders identify concerns and improve practice.
Look Beyond the Incident Itself
An effective post-incident review should not simply establish whether an intervention was reasonable. It should also help the school learn and reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring.
Questions to consider include:
- What happened before the incident?
- What might the pupil have been communicating through their behaviour?
- Were known triggers or vulnerabilities taken into account?
- Were appropriate preventive and de-escalation strategies used?
- Were reasonable adjustments considered?
- Does anything that happened raise a safeguarding concern?
- Does the pupil’s support or behaviour plan need reviewing?
- Could anything be done differently to prevent a similar incident?
- Is this incident part of a wider pattern?
By considering these questions, schools can use post-incident reviews to support safeguarding, improve practice and strengthen preventative approaches.
Make Sure Staff Understand the Connection
Policies alone cannot prepare staff for complex situations. When faced with a distressed pupil, staff may need to make quick decisions about risk, safety, communication and whether physical intervention is necessary. They also need to understand their responsibilities afterwards.
Effective positive handling training should therefore help staff understand how restrictive interventions connect with safeguarding, SEND, reasonable adjustments, de-escalation, recording, reporting and post-incident support. Importantly, staff should know when an incident may raise a safeguarding concern, how to report it and who within the school should be informed.
What Should School Leaders Do Now?
Schools that have already reviewed their positive handling procedures following the April 2026 DfE guidance may not need to undertake another complete review. However, KCSIE 2026 provides a useful opportunity to check that safeguarding, behaviour management and restrictive-intervention procedures work together effectively.
School leaders should consider whether:
- Positive handling policies reflect the current DfE guidance.
- Staff understand that restrictive-intervention incidents may also raise safeguarding concerns.
- Reporting procedures make clear when the DSL or deputy should be informed.
- Staff recognise the additional vulnerabilities of pupils with SEND, mental health needs and medical conditions.
- Behaviour and support plans emphasise prevention, de-escalation and reasonable adjustments.
- Post-incident reviews consider safeguarding as well as the appropriateness of the intervention.
- Restrictive-intervention records are reviewed for patterns and possible disproportionate use.
- Staff training reflects KCSIE 2026 and the school’s wider safeguarding responsibilities.
Ultimately, positive handling, behaviour management and safeguarding should not operate as separate systems. A combined approach helps schools protect pupils, support staff and make informed decisions before, during and after an incident.
Updated Positive Handling Training for Schools
At RealSense Learning, we have reviewed our Positive Handling in Schools online training to reflect the latest developments, including the DfE’s 2026 restrictive-intervention guidance and the safeguarding expectations reinforced through KCSIE 2026 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026.
The course helps school staff understand positive handling within the wider context of prevention, de-escalation, safeguarding and pupil welfare, including when restrictive intervention may be appropriate and the responsibilities that follow an incident.
For more information, explore our Positive Handling in Schools training course or contact our team to discuss your school’s training requirements.