Twins forced into mechanical restraint chairs at school awarded £80k compensation by council

Kent County Council has agreed to pay £80,000 in compensation after it admitted a school it ran breached its policy and the Department for Education's guidance by using mechanical restraint chairs against two boys when they were aged between five and eight years old.

The claimants brought a civil case under the Human Rights Act 1998 against the local authority, arguing that the restraints had been used unlawfully because the school - Five Acre Wood special school in Maidstone - failed to consider less restrictive options and failed to put in place a plan to reduce the use of restraint.

The boys, Samuel and Jacob Montague, are twin brothers who both have autism. Their parents first saw them in the so-called 'Hardrock' chairs at a school concert in 2010 when they were wheeled out to stage.

When the parents protested to the school, they were told the mechanical restraint Hardrock chairs were the only way the boys could participate in such a concert, and the incident was a one-off.

However, the parents became concerned their sons were being routinely restrained while at school – in June 2011, a clinical psychologist visited and witnessed one of the boys strapped into the Hardrock chairs in the classroom.

According to law firm Leigh Day, the parents complained, but the chairs continued to be used.

In 2013, the parents removed the boys from the school in order to home-school them and later brought a civil case under the 1998 Act against the local authority.

The council has now admitted multiple failings through the legal case and accepted its liability to pay the boys £40,000 compensation each, following a court hearing approving the settlement outcome for the twins.

The school admitted that:

• the use of straps and trays on the specialist chairs could restrict movement and amount to mechanical restraint; 
• the use of those should be agreed with parents and put in a care plan; 
• the restraint took place while the boys were at school, without their parents' agreement, which was a breach of the school's policy and national guidance; 
• the school failed to put in place a plan to reduce the use of the restraints or even to consider less restrictive options; 
• the school failed to record, report and monitor the use of the chairs with straps.

However, Kent still disputes the parent's claims that the school continued using the restraints until 2013 and that the school ignored the parents' objections to the use of the chair.  

A solicitor at Leigh Day who worked on the case said that the school and council had not accepted any use of the chairs beyond July 2011, but the parents disputed this and believed the chairs were used for a longer period. As there are no incident reports confirming the school days during which the restraints were used, the claimants were unable to know with any certitude how often the chairs were used.

It was alleged by the parents in the civil case that bruising Samuel sustained in 2013 was likely caused by the use of a restraint chair at school. This was not accepted by the council in the litigation.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Kent County Council has expressed its sincere apologies for the experiences Samuel and Jacob and their parents suffered during their time at Five Acre Wood School some years ago.

“However, we would like to make some points of clarity,” the spokesperson added. “We disagree with the solicitor’s statement that the restraints used ‘failed to deliver any therapeutic benefit to the twins’. In fact, it was the Occupational Therapy service which prescribed specialist chairs to Samuel and Jacob for therapeutic reasons, after reviewing their needs. It also prescribed various safety accessories including lap and shoulder belts and lap trays. The school only used the chairs because they had been prescribed for the twins for therapeutic purposes. It did not intend to control the twins’ behaviour.

"There are limited circumstances where it is appropriate – indeed desirable – for a school such as Five Acre Wood School to use specialist chairs for some of its pupils. For instance some pupils might have mobility or postural issues which prevent them from using a normal chair. In such circumstances, the use of specialist chairs must be approved at a multi-disciplinary meeting which involves teachers, therapists and parents, and in accordance with guidance and policy. The use of chairs is subject to regular monitoring and review. It remains exceptional.

“Between late March 2010 and 6 July 2012 the specialist chairs were used intermittently. The school stopped using the chairs as soon as the parents asked. That was during a meeting between the parents, the school and social services on 6 July 2012. The chairs were never used for Samuel and Jacob after that date."

The spokesperson added: “The parents did not raise any concern after the visit by the clinical psychologist in June 2011. We reject in the strongest terms any suggestion that the school ignored the parents’ wishes.

“The authority accepts that it owed a duty of care to take reasonable care to keep Samuel and Jacob reasonably safe whilst they were at the school. The use of these specialist chairs should always be agreed by a multi-disciplinary team in consultation with service users, their families and advocates, and recorded within an individual’s care or education plan. Regrettably this did not happen in Samuel and Jacob’s case. This was a breach of the school’s policy and the DfES guidance. The authority does not accept that its actions breached the twins’ human rights.

“Kent County Council sincerely apologises for any harm, distress and/or pain and suffering that were caused to Samuel and Jacob and to their parents as a result of these failures.”

Adam Carey