Reducing Restrictive Practices: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility

July 27, 2025

In Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), reducing restrictive practices is not just a goal—it’s a responsibility shared by everyone. From frontline carers to senior managers, every decision we make can either uphold or undermine someone’s rights.

🧠 PBS Starts with Understanding

Many restrictions come from fear or assumptions: “We don’t let them outside alone—it’s not safe.” But PBS teaches us to ask: why is it unsafe? Is it because of the person’s behaviour—or because we haven’t adapted the environment?

Restrictions are often used because:

Staff lack confidence or training
There’s a history of incidents that hasn’t been properly analysed
Environments haven’t been adjusted to meet sensory or communication needs

🧰 Empowering Staff to Challenge Restrictions

One of the most powerful things a service can do is create a culture where staff feel safe to challenge restrictions and propose alternatives.

Empowered PBS teams are encouraged to:

Review daily routines and ask “Is this restrictive?”
Log any restrictions, even if informal (e.g. telling someone when they can have a snack)
Reflect on how small changes could increase autonomy

These conversations should be rewarded, not penalised. Every reduced restriction is a win.

📈 Measuring What Matters

Good PBS services track and review:

How often restrictions are used (and why)
Whether they’re proportionate and legally supported
What’s being done to reduce them

Data dashboards, debriefs, and multi-disciplinary reviews should all feed into a central goal: zero unnecessary restrictions.

🌱 Everyday Actions That Make a Difference

Here’s how PBS teams can help reduce restrictions every day:

Use proactive strategies to prevent crisis escalation
Provide structure without control—predictability is not the same as restriction
Support informed choices, even if there’s some risk
Involve families in conversations about freedoms and safety

Reducing restrictions isn’t just a paperwork exercise. It’s about rebuilding trust, confidence, and dignity.

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Updated for Procurement Act 2023 • CQC-aligned • BASE-aligned (where relevant)