1 Day Schools Positive Handling Course
About our comprehensive Positive Handling in Schools course Nobody wants to hold a child in a manner that is not comforting, nurturing or nourishing. However, there is sometimes a need to use holds in order to prevent harm to the other children in our care, our staff or even the child themselves. When we do have to use Positive Handling, it is important that those doing so are appropriately briefed in the legalities and trained in effective and non-harmful physical skills to ensure the safest most positive experience and outcome for all involved. Our one day Schools Positive Handling course, also know as Safe Holding or Physical Intervention, not only teaches staff a range of appropriate and effective physical skills, but in addition, provides them with a Legal Briefing on their rights and responsibilities regarding the use of force with children. The focus of our training is always on deescalating situations; however, it is important for staff to know how to safely and effectively intervene physically where necessary, in order to prevent a greater harm from occurring. All our courses are tailored to your unique needs and the environment in which you work as well as your service users. What does our course cover? Our full Schools Positive Handling course is comprised of 2 sessions - A legal briefing and a physical skills session. At Personal Safety Partnership Ltd., we use an internationally recognised physical intervention training system that is easy to recall and use safely as well as having the added bonus of being legally audited, properly risk assessed and medically reviewed, minimising the risks of injury to all involved and distress to the pupil being held. Session 1: Legal Briefing - Understanding the Use of Reasonable Force with Children and Young People - 2 hrs Although aimed at those staff who may have to use reasonable force with a child or young person, previous clients have opened up this session to all school staff, Governors, parents/guardians and other stakeholders to help understand the legalities of using force as well as reducing and minimising the need for physical interventions taking place. This session can be attended by as many people as you wish at no extra cost and those completing it will receive a certificate in recognition of this. The Legal Briefing session includes: - Schools Positive Handling - Why is there a need for physical intervention training? - Understanding "Reasonable Force" - When can you use Positive Handling? - Reducing the Need for Restrictive Practices - Manual Handling Risk Assessments - Risk Assessing Time-Out and Sensory Rooms. - Understanding Policy and Guidance - Reporting and Recording Incidents - Managing Allegations - Sharing Good Practice - Aftercare for Staff and Pupils This can be delivered to suit your requirements either as part of a whole INSET day, as a twilight session or as a standalone session. Session 2: Physical Skills - Positive Handling, Safe Holds, Escorting and Moving and Breakaways - 2.5 hrs This session is an essential addition to the Legal Brief for anyone who may have to use positive Handling in order to ensure the safety of all involved. All our physical intervention training skills are low-level holds and are not only easy to recall but are effective and appropriate, enabling staff to be able to hold and escort the person being held safely and securely. This session also shows staff how to address any difference in height between themselves and the person being held, to ensure that all holding is compliant with manual handling regulations. The Physical Skills session includes: - Prompting and Guiding - Holding and Escorting - Seated Holds - Managing objects, weapons and crowds. - Breakaways and Disengagements - Managing altercations and fights The Physical Skills session must be completed in conjunction with the legal brief session and cannot be undertaken as a standalone session. Comprehensive Through-Care Included with every course: the Post-Course Assurance & Due Diligence Pack. Training is only half of what your governing body needs. Since 1 April 2026, schools have been under a legal duty to record every significant use of force and every incident of seclusion or restraint, and to report them to parents. Your board must take all reasonable steps to ensure those procedures are followed, and should be interrogating the data for disproportionality. So we do not just train your staff and leave. Every school that completes this course receives nine editable documents — a model policy, a whole-school risk assessment, an individual pupil plan template, statutory record forms with a report-writing guide, a post-incident debrief protocol, a governor reporting framework and a self-calculating Excel tracker. Each one is mapped clause by clause to the DfE’s April 2026 guidance. It is included. It is yours to keep. And it is the difference between having been trained and being able to prove it. Certification All those who successfully complete the course will be certified in Personal Safety Partnership's Schools Positive Handling Course.
