The Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 May 2026, after being passed by the Scottish Parliament on 24 March 2026. According to the enacted text published on legislation.gov.uk, the measure puts the use of restraint and seclusion in Scottish schools on an express statutory footing. The Act regulates rather than prohibits these practices outright. Its effect is to create legal definitions, require ministerial guidance, introduce parental notification duties, require incident recording and annual reporting, and give Scottish Ministers further powers to adjust the regime through regulations.
Section 1 sets the baseline definitions. “Restraint” means physical contact by a member of staff that is intended significantly to restrict a pupil’s physical movement, including the pupil’s freedom of movement or ability to move independently. “Seclusion” means action intended to isolate a pupil from other pupils and prevent the pupil from leaving the place where they are isolated. The Act also makes clear that staff includes anyone acting under the authority of an education provider. The drafting is deliberately flexible. Scottish Ministers may later amend the definitions by regulations if they consider that necessary either to exclude actions that do not carry a significant risk of harm or to capture additional actions that do. Any such amendment must be preceded by consultation, which means the statutory boundary is set in primary legislation but can still be refined in response to practice.
A central feature of the Act is the duty on Scottish Ministers to issue guidance to education providers about the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. The enacted text requires that guidance to address a wide range of matters, including what counts as significant restriction of movement, appropriate and inappropriate practice, alternatives to restraint and seclusion, prevention, safeguarding, legal requirements, post-incident action, recording and monitoring, inspection, staff training, complaints handling and compliance with the Act. For schools, that is where much of the operational detail will sit. The guidance may elaborate on the statutory definitions and may make different provision for different education providers or different schools. Education providers must have regard to it, and ministers must consult providers, representatives of parents, relevant trade unions, children and young people, the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, and other appropriate bodies before issuing or revising it.
The Act also creates a clear parental notification rule. Where a pupil is subject to restraint or seclusion in a school, the responsible person for that school must inform the parent both that the incident occurred and the details of the incident. The deadline is as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than the end of the school day on which the incident took place, unless that is not reasonably practicable, in which case the longstop is 24 hours after the incident. Responsibility is assigned by school type. In a school managed by an education authority, the duty falls to the headteacher or another authorised member of staff. In an independent school it falls to the proprietor, and in a grant-aided school to the managers. The Act also allows notification to be given to another person where the parent has indicated that this is acceptable. That said, the notification duty may later be disapplied for specified types of restraint or seclusion through regulations made under the Act.
On data collection, the legislation takes a mandatory approach. Each education provider must record all incidents of restraint or seclusion in its schools. Education authorities, independent schools and grant-aided schools must then inform Scottish Ministers of the number of incidents by times specified by ministers. The Act also allows ministers to require reporting to another specified person and to set the form, content and timetable for that reporting. This creates the basis for a national evidence set rather than leaving records solely at school level. Scottish Ministers must prepare an annual report for the Scottish Parliament setting out the number of incidents in schools in Scotland for each reporting year, with the first period running from commencement to the following 31 July and later years running from 1 August to 31 July. However, ministers may also make regulations specifying types of restraint or seclusion that do not need to be recorded or reported, so the eventual dataset will depend in part on secondary legislation.
The Act gives Scottish Ministers a further discretionary role on training. They may develop standards for the provision of training on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and maintain a list of persons who meet those standards. They may also recognise standards developed by others and keep lists of persons who meet those external standards. That does not amount to a compulsory national accreditation model on the face of the Act. It does, however, create a statutory basis for ministers to shape training quality and to publish recognised standards and providers if they choose to do so. For schools and local authorities, that could become an important reference point for procurement, staff development and assurance.
In scope, the Act applies to schools managed by education authorities, independent schools and grant-aided schools through the definition of “education provider”. It also imports a number of established education law terms from the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, including “parent”, “pupil” and “school”. For these purposes, however, the definition of school does not include nursery schools or nursery classes. The measure also gives ministers broad powers to fill in detail through regulations. Most regulation-making powers under the Act are subject to the affirmative procedure, so parliamentary approval will usually be required before they take effect. There is also a separate power to make incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision, including modification of other enactments where necessary to give full effect to the Act.
The implementation timetable is a material part of the story. The commencement section provides that the interpretation, regulation-making, ancillary and short title provisions came into force on 27 May 2026, the day after Royal Assent. By contrast, the substantive sections on definitions, guidance, parental notification, recording and reporting, and training are to come into force on dates appointed later by regulations. Those commencement regulations must be made no later than 31 July 2028. In practice, that means the statutory architecture is now in place, but the main duties on schools are still awaiting activation. For education providers, the lead-in period is likely to be used for consultation, guidance drafting, policy revision, data system changes and decisions on training before the full regime takes effect.