15.Section 3(1) places a duty on a ‘responsible person’ for a school to inform the parent of a pupil subjected to restraint or seclusion about the incident and to provide details of it. This must be done as soon as possible and in any event by the end of the school day on which the incident occurred, or where that is not reasonably practicable, within 24 hours of the incident. “End of the school day” is defined in subsection (5). The responsible person is the proprietor for independent schools, the manager for grant-aided schools and the headteacher or another authorised member of staff in schools run by the education authority. Section 6(2) applies the definition of “parent” in section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, which includes a guardian or a person who is responsible for the care of a child or young person. A parent may also indicate that another person should be given the information, in which case the responsible person may comply with the duty by informing that other person.
16.Subsection (4) provides that there is no requirement to inform parents of any types of restraint or seclusion that have been exempted from recording and reporting requirements by regulations made under section 4(9).
Commentary on Sections Section 3 – Duty to inform parents of use of restraint or seclusion