The Government must take action to stop data gaps from putting our children at risk

..., such as restraint. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the secure transportation of care-experienced children. If a child living in or on the edge of care needs to be transported between care homes or other secure settings, or taken to school, hospital or other appointments, local authorities regularly hire private secure transportation providers to carry out these journeys. Many of these providers place these children – who have not committed nor been suspected of committing a crime – in handcuffs or subject them to other forms of restraint, including chemical, despite the long-term impact this can have on a child’s health, wellbeing and development...

Children in care should not be put in handcuffs when being transported

...On World Children’s Day, the Labour MPs Sarah Championand John McDonnell write to support the Hope instead of Handcuffs campaign Saturday 20 November marks World Children’s Day, the anniversary of the UN general assembly’s adoption of the convention of the rights of the child (UNCRC). But despite the UK ratifying the UNCRC in 1991, many children in care are being treated in a way that violates this convention. According to the UN committee on the rights of the child, restraint against children should only be used if the child poses an imminent danger to themselves or others, under the direct supervision of a medical professional, and only after all other...

Hertfordshire children’s rights campaign named Social Enterprise Businesswoman of the Year 2022

...forms of restraint.   To be clear, we are referring to innocent children in the UK’s care system being handcuffed by private organisations whilst being securely transported. Not children who have been involved or are suspected of being involved in criminal activity being handcuffed by police. We know that there is a deeply worrying prevalence of providers handcuffing or restraining children, with some organisations advertising that they use handcuffs on their website.   We can tell if a child has been handcuffed from the red marks left on the skin of their wrists. Stakeholders in this sector, including Ofsted, the Office of the Children’s Commission...

MP writes to Secretary of State in support of Hope Instead of Handcuffs Campaign

...This week Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea, asked in a written question to the Secretary of State for Education,  "what steps he is taking to end the handcuffing and restraint of children in the care system by private secure transportation providers". This follows a successful drop-in session hosted last week in the House of Commons by Serenity Welfare in the name of the Hope Instead of Handcuffs campaign which was attended by 22 MPs....

Hope instead of Handcuffs event with Steve McCabe MP

...Event organised by the Hope instead of Handcuffs campaign to discuss the alarming use of restraint against innocent children in the UK's care sector.   Watch Now...

Steve McCabe MP to host Hope Instead of Handcuffs online roundtable event

...As media and political support continues to grow for Serenity Welfare’s Hope Instead of Handcuffs campaign, leading supporter Steve McCabe MP will host an online roundtable event on 20th July to discuss how to tackle the use of restraint against children in care and how to support better vulnerable young people.....   View Full Article...