Seclusion rooms at schools will be made illegal under new legislation proposed by Education Minister Hekia Parata. Hekia ParataThe minister wants to permanently ban teachers locking children away in the typically small and isolated rooms, in the same way corporal punishment was prohibited in 1989. The first, when a 13-year-old boy attending a special school was put in a time-out room, prompted the development of seclusion and restraint guidelines. Those guidelines will be released today, alongside a letter to all schools asking they stop using the rooms. The Ministry of Education has also apologised to the minister and parents for its handling of the situation.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 02, 2016 20:13 UTC