Schools - violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour: risk assessment guidance

Section 3: Principles of risk assessment and planning

The GIRFEC approach to assessing and managing risk^[26] is underpinned by the following key ideas:

• risk and need are two sides of the same coin
• assessing and managing risk are part of the same system
• risk includes looking at current risks and the long-term impact of those risks
• risk involves looking at the consequences of failing to meet needs

Risk assessment processes concerning a child’s behaviour are not required, or appropriate, in all circumstances. They should only be applied in situations where there is a foreseeable risk of harm occurring or a pattern of behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harm to self or others.

The basics of risk assessment

Everyone in an educational setting^[27] should be safe.

Risk assessment should support educational settings to:

1. reduce risk both in terms of frequency and intensity of the risk

2. promote safety and improve wellbeing of everyone in the learning community

Effective risk assessment involves a step-by-step process:

• identify risk, what could cause harm or injury, in this context, the behaviour
• assess the level of risk, who could be harmed, where risk occurs
• control or mitigate the risk – planned actions to reduce risk
• record the assessment and planned actions
• review the assessment and plan

See Appendix 2 for a summary of HSE’s five-step approach to managing risks and risk assessment at work).

Assessing the level of risk is based on both the severity and likelihood of the risk happening again. This level is determined by completing a risk matrix (see Appendix 3).

The level of risk should be recorded in a risk assessment (see exemplar in Appendix 4) which should also include:

• who is responsible for completing/coordinating the completion of the risk assessment and informing those who need to know of the mitigations^[28]
• the risks, including robust, evidence-based assessment of needs, and the detail of the mitigations to support needs and manage the risks
• how and when the setting will establish, monitor and review its measures to ensure the risk assessment is effective

Risk assessments in this context should also consider risks both during specific educational activities and risks that may arise in the day. This should include anything related to the premises, or delivery of its curriculum, whether on or off site. For example, risk assessments in the context of this guidance should consider:

• history^[29] of certain types of violent, aggressive, and dangerous behaviour
• specific areas, e.g. classrooms, corridors, playground, social areas etc.
• specific times if appropriate, e.g. before school, during class, social times, after school
• activities, e.g. certain subjects (such as PE, technical studies, home economics), trips, or using p articular equipment (compasses, scissors, knives, boiling water, craft tools etc.)
• anyone who may be more vulnerable to the risks such as vulnerable children, new employees, those working in one-to one situations, or employees in specialist settings
• transport – to and from the educational setting or to and from p articular activities
• known triggers for children exhibiting such behaviour

The basics of risk assessment planning

After a risk assessment has been completed, a risk assessment plan should be developed to manage the risk and keep everyone safe. The plan should be:

• developed in collaboration with employees (particularly those who know the child best)
• shared (see footnote 28) and easy to administer, evaluate, review, and update
• dynamic – reviewed often to meet changing needs
• proportionate – not too bureaucratic

Risk is likely to increase, or escalate, if there is no plan in place.

Factors included in risk assessment plans will vary between local authorities, however they will ge nerally include:

• direct mitigations to reduce risk (see Appendix 5) including –
  • environmental modifications: modifications to the physical/social environment such as creating a quiet space for the child to self-regulate, reducing sensory stimuli
  • behaviour support – practical actions or approaches that support the child such as positive reinforcement, visual timetables, or social stories
• intervention strategies: detailed on support plans (wellbeing or behaviour), for example, calming or de-escalation techniques known to work, modified routines, sensory breaks, or additional supervision during high-risk times^[30]

Risk assessment in the context of wider needs assessments and planning

If a child is displaying violent, aggressive, and dangerous behaviour that causes sufficient concern to initiate a risk assessment, then their overall needs (learning and wellbeing) should be assessed in in line with GIRFEC,^[31] child protection, and additional support needs guidance^[32] (where appropriate).

Any risk assessment plan should be an integral part of a child’s wider assessment of needs and their support plan^[33] or Child’s Plan. The interventions included in any support plan are also likely to be direct or indirect factors that reduce risk.

Key considerations should include:

• impact on a child’s wellbeing and development
• family and/or care placement context as well as the wider environment and how can/does this minimise or reduce the violent, aggressive, and dangerous behaviours
• whether supports and interventions are individualised to the needs of each child (such as a health, communication needs or other additional support needs)
• capacity of the parents or carers to adequately meet the child’s needs, including their need to be safe
• skills, expertise and resources available and accessible

In some situations, it should be noted that risk assessments may be informed by or contribute to wider Child Protection and/or Care and Risk Management (CARM) process.

The CARM process is a multi-agency approach to risk assessment for children (aged 12-17 years) whose behaviour poses a serious risk of harm^[34] (defined as “behaviour of a violent or sexual nature which is life threatening and/or traumatic, and from which recovery, whether physical or psychological, may reasonably be expected to be difficult or impossible”).^[35] CARM is designed to support effective public protection and victim safety planning. Where a CARM assessment may be needed discussion with social work and police is necessary.

Contextual Safeguarding: violent, aggressive, and dangerous behaviours occur in shared social spaces such as schools, parks, or on the streets etc. and assessments and interventions should be informed by contextual safeguarding considerations. A traditional focus on a child and their family which does not consider the relevance of wider relationships and the location of harm, may not suffice in managing presenting behaviours or reducing contextual risks.^[36]

For more information see examples of contextual safeguarding school assessments and school safety plans for when harmful sexual behaviour is a consideration.^[37]

When risk cannot be avoided or reduced to an acceptable level

There may be instances where a local authority/educational setting cannot completely avoid or sufficiently reduce the risk to an acceptable level with the mitigations/resources available at that time. In these circumstances alternatives should be considered through a continuum of staged intervention and the Child’s Plan.

The child, who is at risk or whose behaviour is causing a risk to others, may need to temporarily be relocated to a setting or learning environment where the risk can be reduced or avoided whilst also maintaining their right to education. This would only happen at the higher levels of staged intervention and may include a temporary managed move to an alternative location onsite, such as a support base, or an offsite specialist provision. See also the note at the end of Appendix 5.

The primary aim should always be to ‘continue’^[38] to explore options to reintegrate the child to a learning environment like that of their peers, or an environment that optimises their educational outcomes as soon as the risk can be managed sufficiently.

Recording, reporting, and monitoring^[39]

Appropriate recording, reporting, and monitoring serves several key functions as illustrated in the diagram below.

National

To ensure accountability and that everyone’s rights are being recognised and realised.

Local

To ensure the local authority’s duty of care is appropriately being exercised.

Local

To inform areas of need and improvement priorities in relation to meeting duties to manage risk and increase safety for all.

Educational Setting

To inform areas of need and meet duties in relation to the wellbeing and safety of everyone in an educational setting.

Individual

To improve wellbeing and emotional regulation and reduce violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour.

Each local authority will have a range of systems in place to ensure appropriate recording and reporting is undertaken at both educational setting and local authority levels. All local authorities will have systems for recording behavioural incidences involving:

• pupil to pupil – recording will include, but is not limited to, the use of SEEMiS including Pastoral Notes; Chronologies; Behaviour Referral Systems; and corporate Health and Safety Reporting
• pupil to employees – recording will follow the local authority’s corporate health and safety policy and procedures (in line with legislation – see Section 2)
• incidences involving physical intervention – recording will follow the local authority’s corporate health and safety policy and procedures (in line with Physical intervention in schools – a relationships and rights based approach: guidance); if the local authority uses a training provider for physical intervention, then they will also have to comply with the recording procedures of that provider

The information from these recording mechanisms should be monitored at:

• individual child level – to inform risk assessments creation and review
• educational setting level – to inform employee support and/or professional learning
• local authority level – to inform support needs and improvement priorities^[40]

Supports could include resourcing of specific interventions/mitigations (see section on risk assessment planning earlier in this section) or professional learning for staff (see employee training in the section below).

Some local authorities have tools to monitor individual children’s behaviour to aid assessment and support planning supports. Some local authorities have establishment trackers for violent incidents and physical interventions that are assessed at local authority level and trigger targeted support for an individual child or establishment.

It should be noted that recording and reporting systems may form a part of a child’s educational record and can be requested by the child’s parent under the Pupils’ Educational Records (Scotland) Regulations 2003.^[41] Alternatively, a child or their family (where appropriate) can make a subject access request;^[42] at the time, or in future. It is therefore important that the language used in reporting is factual and accurate with regards to the circumstances of the incident and any unsubstantiated personal opinions or inferences avoided. This may be an area that requires periodical employee training to ensure employees feel confident in how to record, report and monitor incidents.

It should be noted that post-incident reviews and supports should also be monitored to ensure they are happening; they are compliant with relevant guidance; and to assess their effectiveness.

Further relevant information about recording and reporting processes include:

• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
• Incident reporting in schools (accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences): Guidance for employers
• Accident book
• Consulting workers on health and safety

Updating and Review

Risk assessments are ‘living documents’ and are to be updated and reviewed if there are new incidents and/or new relevant information that impacts the current assessment of risk. Risk assessments are to be regularly^[43] reviewed thus ensuring mitigations are effective, appropriate, and proportionate to the level of risk.

If a child’s behaviour is to be assessed within a risk assessment, information regarding any incident involving violent, aggressive, or dangerous behaviour should be communicated to the appropriate person or team responsible. This ensures the risk assessment can be adapted accordingly and assessment and review systems are effectively enacted.

Where incidents of violent, aggressive, and dangerous behaviour occur:

• a check should be made as to whether mitigations/control measures were being followed as detailed
• if mitigations/control measures have not been followed, it is important to establish why this is the case – consideration as to whether this was due to human error or a change in circumstances which created a barrier to mitigation; for example, if the mitigation was no longer possible to implement or no longer appropriate
• to ensure mitigations and controls are implemented effectively in future, it is important to learn from previous incidences where the risk assessment has not been effective; for example, there may be a requirement to undertake further assessment and develop new mitigations, consider contextual and environmental factors, identify training or support for employees to ensure implementation of the risk assessment is feasible and leads to change
• in circumstances where the risk assessment has been followed, consideration as to whether the child’s chronology of presenting behaviours and assessment evidence indicates further, or different mitigations are required to reduce risks to an acceptable level
• if the mitigations/control measures were being followed as detailed, a judgement needs to be made as to whether the chronology of presenting behaviours since the last review now requires further mitigations or control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level; clearly the seriousness of individual incidents will be relevant here – one serious incident is likely to require further or stronger mitigations
• parents and carers should be active participants in the review and planning process. Their insights can be invaluable in understanding their child’s behaviour both in education settings and/or in the community; in this way they may be helpful in identifying effective mitigations which lead to positive outcomes. Parents and carers are to support their child to act appropriately and safely in educational establishments
• where possible, and a child can engage, it may be helpful to include them in identifying what they find helpful and/or unhelpful – this can help understand their experiences and tailor interventions to their specific needs^[44]
• updated risk assessments should be shared with all relevant employees, parents/carers and where appropriate, the child^[45]
• reviews of risk assessments and subsequent changes should be made within the context of wider planning and assessment to ensure a child’s additional support needs are fully considered
• a system for regular reviews of risk assessments should be established. Where there have been no incidents of violent, aggressive, and dangerous behaviour over an assessed time period, consideration should be given as to whether the mitigations continue to be required – risk assessments should include a review date; the review date will vary depending on the child’s needs

At local authority level, there should be mechanisms in place to periodically share anonymised information about incidents, and subsequent risk assessments, across educational settings to support system-level learning.

Employee training

It is important that risk assessment in relation to a child’s behaviour is understood through a lens of child development, is trauma-informed, and must consider situational and contextual factors. All local authority education employees should understand these areas. Local authorities have a responsibility to ensure training and support for employees is available to develop the required skills and knowledge to support children and manage risk appropriately.

Risk assessment specific professional learning should include:

• how to document and report behavioural incidences?
• risk assessment
  • when a risk assessment should be completed
  • how to contribute to a health and safety risk assessment conducted by their employer
  • how to complete the risk assessment and apply the risk assessment matrix
  • how to contribute to a risk management plan
• knowledge and skills – understanding behaviour and how to respond
• co-regulation and de-escalation strategies
• relevant training on how to safely intervene in an emergency for example: protective stances, dis-engagement or physical intervention if required^[46]
• how to take part in, or manage, a supportive and timely debrief/follow-up
• employee supervision and wellbeing support
• specific training around supporting the needs of a child displaying violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour to ensure staff are equipped with appropriate responses/skills to manage risks

Local authorities should support educational settings to find the time to do appropriate and relevant training.