ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education
Restrictive Practices in English Schools: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Parental Lived Experience
Provisionally accepted
Carly Christie*
Emma Harding*- The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Abstract This paper presents an exploration of the lived experiences of parents whose children have been exposed to the use of restrictive practices (RPs) in schools in England. The research utilised Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to provide a deep and interpretative understanding. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit the lived experiences of five parents, whose children had experienced a range of RPs in school. The analysis produced three major themes which centred around the power imbalances, the emotional labour and the practical consequences of RP use. The findings are discussed in the context of neoliberalism, and key implications for practice, research and policy are reflected.
Keywords: Restrictive practices, Education, Parents' experience, Schools, Restraint, seclusion
Received: 27 Sep 2025; Accepted: 07 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Christie and Harding. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Carly Christie, carly.christie@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
Emma Harding, emma.harding@manchester.ac.uk
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