What Ofsted inspectors look for on restrictive intervention and positive handling

Ask a headteacher what Ofsted wants to see on physical intervention and you will often hear about the folder: the policy, the training certificates, the incident log. The September 2026 inspection materials point somewhere else. Inspectors are told to evaluate the impact of leaders' systems, not to audit paperwork, and the toolkit's language on restrictive intervention is about use and learning, not documents.

That fits the way we work at ProActive Approaches. Since 2016 our position has been #AimingForZero, set out by our founder Simon Gower: a reduction target implies an acceptable number of restraints, and zero removes that permission. Ofsted's expected standard asks schools to use restrictive physical intervention as a last resort and to analyse incidents to minimise the use of force. A school working towards zero will meet that standard as a by-product. A school preparing a folder for inspectors may not.

The inspection framework in brief

From September 2026, state-funded schools are inspected using version 1.1 of the school inspection toolkit. Schools receive a grade for each evaluation area on a five-point scale (urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard and exceptional), and safeguarding is judged as met or not met. Restrictive intervention is most directly relevant to three areas: attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and safeguarding.

What the toolkit says about restrictive intervention

Under inclusive approaches to attendance and behaviour, the toolkit says leaders and staff should make sure that restrictive physical intervention is used as a last resort and that incidents are analysed carefully to minimise the need for the use of force.

Under the urgent improvement grade for attendance and behaviour, it lists use of force or restrictive intervention that is excessive and/or unsafe. That is a serious finding: one or more urgent improvement indicators is enough for that grade.

The toolkit does not set out a list of holds, a required training provider or a particular certificate. What it describes is a culture: restrictive intervention is rare, and when it happens the school learns from it.

What inspectors will look at

Behaviour logs and what leaders understand from them

The school inspection operating guide says inspectors must review attendance data and behaviour logs, but should avoid auditing paperwork. Instead they evaluate what leaders understand from their own analysis and what actions they have taken as a result. Key records can include safeguarding records, behaviour logs, complaints records and training records.

In practice, expect questions such as:

• How many restrictive interventions have there been this year, and is that number rising or falling?
• Which pupils are involved most often, and what have you changed for them?
• When and where do incidents happen, and what have you done about those times and places?
• Are pupils with SEND, or other groups, involved disproportionately?

Inclusion and pupils with SEND

The inclusion evaluation area expects leaders to identify pupils' needs quickly and accurately, to engage with pupils and families to reduce barriers, and to make sure staff receive suitable training and support. The September 2026 update added wording about leaders' engagement with pupils with SEND and their families. If restrictive intervention falls mostly on pupils with SEND, inspectors may want to know how behaviour support plans, reasonable adjustments and work with families are being used to change that.

Safeguarding culture

The safeguarding area looks for an open culture that puts pupils' interests first, where concerns are dealt with promptly and pupils' views are sought and listened to. Restrictive intervention is part of that picture. Inspectors may speak to pupils, staff and parents, and are likely to notice if pupils describe being held or isolated in ways that do not match the school's records.

What good looks like

From the toolkit and the DfE's April 2026 guidance, a school in a strong position can usually show:

• A clear policy that uses the DfE definitions, leads with prevention and is available to staff, pupils and parents.
• Complete, same-day records that meet the minimum content set out in the DfE guidance, with parents informed in writing.
• Analysis, not just counting. Leaders and governors can describe the patterns and what they have changed.
• A falling trend, or a clear explanation of why numbers have changed and what is being done.
• Individual planning for pupils who are most often involved, co-produced with families.
• Training matched to need, with staff able to explain how they prevent incidents as well as how they respond.

Our guide to physical intervention training for schools explains how to match training to need.

How the DfE guidance and Ofsted fit together

The DfE guidance on restrictive interventions sets the duties: recording each significant incident, informing parents, and governors reviewing the data for patterns, training needs and disproportionate use. Ofsted's toolkit says it is grounded in DfE guidance, and its expectation that incidents are analysed carefully mirrors those duties. A school meeting the guidance well will already have most of what inspectors look for.

Preparing governors

Under the DfE guidance, governing bodies and proprietors must take all reasonable steps to make sure recording and reporting procedures are followed, and should regularly review and interrogate the data. Inspectors meet governors or trustees, and leadership and governance is a separate evaluation area. Governors who can talk confidently about restrictive intervention usually have three things:

• A regular report that shows numbers over time, broken down by pupil group, location, time of day and type of intervention, not a single termly total.
• A narrative from leaders explaining what the data shows and what has been done in response.
• A record of their own challenge, such as questions asked in meetings and actions followed up.

The DfE also asks governors to be careful not to over-interpret small numbers. Good analysis is proportionate. A school with three incidents a term does not need the same report as a large special school.

What pupils and parents may tell inspectors

Inspectors gather evidence from pupils, staff and parents as well as from records. Pupils may talk about being held, being taken to a room or being kept apart from their class. Parents may raise concerns through the online survey or in conversation. If what pupils and parents describe does not match the school's records, inspectors are likely to explore why.

The best protection is a culture where restrictive interventions are recorded honestly, parents are told promptly in writing, and pupils are offered a chance to talk about what happened afterwards. The DfE guidance expects separate follow-up conversations with the pupil and staff involved, ideally led by someone who was not present.

Seclusion, isolation and removal

The toolkit's attendance and behaviour section expects sanctions, including isolation, suspension and permanent exclusion, to be used proportionately and appropriately, with support for pupils who have barriers to learning or wellbeing. This is separate from seclusion under the DfE guidance, which is a non-disciplinary safety measure. Schools need to be clear which is which, because the recording duties and the expectations are different.

Under the DfE guidance, seclusion must only be used to protect others from harm when a pupil is highly dysregulated, must never be enforced by a threat of punishment, and requires the pupil to be supervised at all times. If a room used for isolation as a sanction is also used, in practice, to keep distressed pupils from leaving, inspectors may ask how the school tells the two apart and whether those incidents are being recorded.

A self-review before inspection

These questions can help leaders check where they stand:

1. Does our policy use the DfE's definitions, including seclusion and restraint without contact?
2. Is every significant incident recorded the same day, with the minimum content the guidance requires?
3. Are parents informed in writing every time, and do we offer a follow-up conversation?
4. Can leaders describe our patterns this year, and what we changed as a result?
5. Have we checked whether pupils with SEND or other groups are involved disproportionately?
6. Do the pupils most often involved have co-produced behaviour support plans and risk assessments that are reviewed after incidents?
7. Are the staff most likely to be present trained, including lunchtime and support staff?
8. Do governors receive the data and challenge it?

If the honest answer to any of these is no, that is the place to start, well before an inspection is due. None of these questions is about producing paperwork for inspectors. Each is about whether the school is learning from incidents and reducing them, which is what the toolkit describes.

Common weaknesses

• Records that are complete but never analysed, so leaders cannot say what has changed.
• Incidents of seclusion or non-contact restraint not recorded because staff do not recognise them.
• Governors who receive a number each term but do not ask questions about it.
• Training certificates for staff who rarely encounter incidents, and gaps for lunchtime or support staff who often do.
• Records that describe what the pupil did, but not what staff tried first.

Recording well is a skill. Our Recording Formula course trains staff to write records that support analysis, and our ProActive Schools programme helps leaders reduce incidents across the whole school.

FAQ

Does Ofsted require a specific physical intervention training certificate?

No. The toolkit does not name any training provider or certificate. It expects staff to receive suitable training and support, and the DfE guidance leaves school leaders to decide the training their context requires.

Will inspectors ask to see our incident log?

Inspectors review behaviour logs and may look at incident records, but the operating guide says they should avoid auditing paperwork. Be ready to explain what your records tell you and what you have done as a result.

Should we prepare an evidence pack on restraint for inspection?

Ofsted says it does not need leaders to produce documents specifically for inspection, and that documents need not be in any particular format, provided they are easily accessible. Use the records and analysis you already produce for governors.

Could high restraint numbers lead to a poor grade?

Numbers alone do not decide a grade. Excessive or unsafe use of force or restrictive intervention is an urgent improvement indicator. A school with a clear understanding of its data and a credible plan is in a very different position from one that cannot explain its numbers.

Does this apply to independent special schools?

The school inspection toolkit applies to state-funded schools. Independent schools are inspected under separate arrangements, but the DfE's recording and reporting duties apply to all schools in England.