@againstrestraint.com
Family, survivor and neurodivergent led advocacy to end restraint, seclusion and institutional abuses of children. #AgainstRestraint #SICAA SICAA Coalition. 🔗 againstrestraint.com
While children across England unwrap presents this Christmas, disabled children are unpacking something else: fear.
The fear of going back to school.
Because for too many disabled children, school isn’t a place of safety or inclusion. #AgainstRestraint
Illustrated winter scene with evergreen branches and falling snow. Copper and orange baubles hang from the branches, each displaying the ICARS logo and the words “International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion.” Snowflakes and small star shapes are scattered across the image. Handwritten-style text on the left reads: “Wishing you a restful and joyful holiday period.”
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and the very best for the year ahead.
This year has asked a lot of many people. Rest matters. Time with loved ones matters.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our community. #AgainstRestraint
The group found 40% miss more than 18 or more days or school per year, 60% of their parents report their schools do not “facilitate meaningful involvement” and the vast majority of seclusion and restraint incidents involve students with disabilities. themanchestermirror.com/2025/12/08/m...
Ofsted - "Frequent incidents of restraint are not reviewed in line with the school’s behaviour policy; this means that the school does not learn from its use of restraint, which places staff and pupils at risk of injury. #AgainstRestraint
www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-o...
A teacher has been banned from the classroom after restraining a child while singing a nursery rhyme.
Benjamin Guilfoyle, 39, was employed at The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster when the incident took place in July 2022. #AgainstRestraint www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Joanne Juhnke, an advocacy specialist with Disability Rights Wisconsin, said seclusion and restraint has historically disproportionately affected students with disabilities. #AgainstRestraint milwaukeenns.org/2025/12/09/m...
On International Human Rights Day, we recognise the children who were harmed, the families who were ignored, and the advocates who refused to be silent.
Every child has the right to safety, dignity, and support. #HRD2025 #AgainstRestraint #HumanRightsDay2025
Human rights mean the right to be safe.
The right to be free from degrading treatment.
The right to education without fear.
A graphic for International Human Rights Day. Three raised fists in black and orange watercolor splashes appear in the center, symbolising resistance and solidarity. At the top, the text reads “10 December 2025” and “#AgainstRestraint.” The ICARS logo is in the upper left corner. At the bottom, bold text reads “International Human Rights Day” in black and orange.
Today is a reminder that human rights are not abstract principles. Yet children continue to face institutional abuse including the use of restraint, seclusion, isolation rooms, and compliance systems that violate their dignity and their rights.
Today we’re shouting out Sir Alan with our quickly made up, absolutely deserved Evidence Speaks Award 2025. Today we’re shouting out Sir Alan with our quickly made up, absolutely deserved Evidence Speaks Award 2025. Because sometimes you create the award after you find the hero. #AgainstRestraint
A comic-style illustration of a superhero character inspired by Sir Alan Wood CBE. He stands confidently against an orange sunset sky, wearing a blue suit with a red cape and a chest emblem reading “EVIDENCE.” At the bottom, white text reads “THE EVIDENCE SPEAKS AWARD 2025 – Sir Alan Wood CBE.” The ICARS logo appears in the lower right corner, and orange borders frame the image on the left and right.
🧵Did anyone have “Sir Alan Wood CBE becomes the truth-speaking hero for vulnerable pupils” on their card for 2025 ?
His report into Mossbourne told the truth and finally gives voice to children and families across England who have faced the same harms and been dismissed and ignored.
Thank you Billie-Jean we appreciate, value and respect you more than words can express. ❤️
ICARS works in the public interest to defend the vulnerable. Support them, and great journalists like Keith Cooper and Will Stewart. @againstrestraint.com
Great journalism, as practiced by Keith Cooper and Will Stewart today, and the investigative team at the Hartford Courant 25 years ago, serves the public interest, defends the most vulnerable and makes a difference.
Thank you to you both. @kijcooper1973.bsky.social
Their five articles from 2025 can be viewed below
inews.co.uk/news/restrai...
ICARS recognises their integrity, commitment to transparency, and the impact of their work on public awareness and the national record. We express deep appreciation for the role they have played in strengthening the movement to protect disabled children and advance their rights in England.
They have shown that journalism can challenge the culture of silence and fear that surrounds restrictive practices in schools. Their reporting in The I Paper carries echoes of the Hartford Courant team in the United States in the 1990s. @billiejsweeney.bsky.social
They have taken stories that were ignored, dismissed, or minimized and brought them into national view with accuracy, care, and persistence. They asked hard questions, listened to families, examined evidence, and refused to soften the truth for the comfort of institutions.
📢ICARS Person(s) of the Year 2025 Keith Cooper and Will Stewart 🏆
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
ABA Harms.
More evidence:
"ABA therapy was associated with a greater use of acute mental health services; autistic youth in the ABA group had an overall risk that was 30% higher for mental health hospitalizations"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
A silhouetted figure stands in a dark, misty scene holding a protest sign with the ICARS logo that reads “International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion.” The light behind them creates a halo effect, emphasizing the act of protest. Below, a quote from Clarence Darrow reads: “As long as the world shall last, there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever.” The hashtag #AgainstRestraint appears in the corner.
If no one objects, an English child will die from restraint in a school. Another will live with lifelong trauma from isolation and seclusion.
Silence protects systems, not children.
Speaking out is not chaos, it’s conscience.
#AgainstRestraint #PandemicOfPunishment #ShineOnMax
Every system has its Epsteins, those who harm children, and its enablers who say “no harm done.” #AgainstRestraint
“The pandemic of punishment,” as Zoey described it, has clearly resonated, this message reminds us why this work matters. #AgainstRestraint #CMHAC2025
@livesinthebalance.bsky.social
🧵Thank you to everyone who’s reached out about todays Children Mental Health Advocacy Conference presentation. The ladies have received many kind personal messages, and we’ve also seen a flood of supportive messages sent to us here on social media. We’ll make sure every one of them is passed along
Thank you for attending. I know the ladies are receiving many messages, and are overwhelmed by the positive response.
“The assumption that simply integrating autistic students into mainstream settings guarantees inclusion is not only misleading, but harmful. As many advocates warn, true inclusion demands a fundamental shift in attitudes, environments and policies.”
theconversation.com/many-autisti... #inclusion
