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Seclusion rooms used sparingly in Pembina Hills

Seclusion rooms were utilized six times in four months across the school division
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According to a report presented to Pembina Hills trustees Jan. 15, seclusion rooms were only utilized six times in four months throughout the school division. Seclusion rooms were previously prohibited by the NDP government, but the UCP government allowed their use again following the election.

BARRHEAD - Seclusion rooms were only used in the Pembina Hills School Division six times from September to December, according to statistics provided to trustees earlier this month.

As stated in the new seclusion standards issued by Alberta Education in November, seclusion is the involuntary confinement or isolation of a person alone in a room or areas that the person cannot freely exit. In this case, it refers to the seclusion of a special-needs student with behavioural issues.

Generally, this occurs in a room with a window and a door that can be locked. PHSD director of student services Rob McGarva said there might also be reinforcing along the walls as special needs children in a heightened state of aggression “tend to kick the drywall.”

As noted in the standards, seclusion and time-outs are not the same — the latter is an intervention meant to stop or reduce challenging behaviours, while the former is an emergency/safety procedure used when children or staff are at risk.

“It’s a last step when we don’t have any other options, and it is used fairly rarely,” McGarva told trustees at their Jan. 15 meeting in Barrhead.

In March 2019, the NDP government had banned the use of seclusion rooms after an incident in the Elk Island schools division.

The UCP reversed this ban when they came to power. However, they also directed school boards to track the number of times that seclusion rooms were used.

Within Pembina Hills, seclusion rooms were used twice in September and November and once in October and December. Only one to two students were placed in seclusion rooms over those four months.

“The good news … is it’s a pretty rare thing,” McGarva said.

When asked by trustee Jackie Comeau where seclusion rooms are located, McGarva indicated there is one at Barrhead Elementary School, one at Eleanor Hall School in Clyde and one at R.F. Staples School, which is used as part of the Pathways program.

When asked by trustee Judy Lefebvre about the age of the students utilizing seclusion rooms, McGarva said they are all in Grades 1-5. (The Pathways program at R.F. Staples is for Grade 5-12 students.)

Incidentally, the new seclusion standards were developed in conjunction with Inclusion Alberta, the Autism Society of Alberta, the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the Alberta School Boards Association, the Alberta School Councils’ Association, the College of Alberta School Superintendents and the four metro school boards.


Kevin Berger

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