Teach Secondary - Issue 14.6

From playground to policy, find out how Safer Handling became a national standard... The Inside Story What began in classrooms and hospitals has become a national benchmark in restraint reduction and the safer handling of incidents. In 1997, Safer Handling’s founder Doug Melia was teaching martial arts as a GCSE option at inner-city schools, encountering first-hand the limitations of no-restraint policies. Outside the classroom, he was working as a door supervisor – before regulations revealed the dangers of excessive force. This dual perspective revealed to him the urgent need for safer strengthened our ability to assist settings with internal reviews, regulatory responses and general accountability processes. By 2015, the business had acquired the Soft Restraint Kit brand and re-engineered it as a new solution for preventing restraint- related deaths. Other new tools were developed to aid clinical interventions and movement, particularly for vulnerable individuals, for whom ‘hands on’ interventions simply aren’t an option. In 2020, while many providers paused their operations in response to the pandemic, Safer Handling launched a full suite of digital learning resources so that frontline staff in schools, care homes and custody environments could continue to receive vital training. There have been over 50,000 signups to date, from as far afield as Nigeria and Texas. In 2021, Safer Handling collaborated with the Ministry of Justice to design a fabric alternative to archaic mechanical restraints. The result – Safetycuff – provides a trauma-informed alternative to relying on prolonged holding or use of metal devices. While there are no plans to utilise Safetycuff devices in schools, their use has now been formally mandated across all UK young offender Institutions and secure children’s homes – a landmark moment in terms of lawful and ethical solutions being embedded within national frameworks. 2025 has seen the company launch brand new online courses and unveil a genuine first – a bold, accessible guide called ‘That’s Not Safer Handling’ inspired by the ‘ That’s Not My… ’ book series for children. The resource will help frontline staff spot signs of poor practice, challenge unsafe routines, and initiate essential conversations around restraint reduction spanning a range of age groups and sectors. DOUG MELIA is the founder and director of Safer Handling Safer Handling equips staff and volunteers across multiple sectors with legally-informed training to safely manage the distressed, displaced and disregulated. From incident prevention to post- incident support, the organisation helps embed strategies that are lawful, ethical and trauma-aware. Flexibility Flexible training options intended to support busy staff with accessible, time-efficient online and blended learning formats Organisational experience Benefit from organisational experience spanning education, healthcare and justice, as well as direct access to our suite of instructional clips and regular workshops. External reviews Safer Handling’s services are all independently reviewed by external legal, medical and movement professionals Unique selling points ABOUT DOUG: Doug Melia is the founder and director of Safer Handling Contact: +44 033 0023 5636 info@safer-handling.co.uk safer-handling.co.uk handling alternatives. In 1999 he launched Safer Handing, and began working with the Lancashire Partnership against Crime and the NHS, teaching personal safety and positive behaviour support strategies to teachers. From 2001 to 2006, Doug was regularly teaching school staff, whilst simultaneously serving as a High Court enforcement officer. These roles highlighted for him how poorly designed intervention systems could escalate risk, rather than reduce it. This became the primary focus of Safer Handling – to develop respectful, legally defensible systems rooted in lived experience. From 2006 to 2009, Safer Handling began investing in sector-wide research and professional training, focusing on trauma-informed alternatives to prolonged physical restraint and chemical intervention. In 2010, Safer Handling launched a suite of DVD resources to help schools meet their statutory annual refresher training requirements. The goal was to make essential knowledge accessible; empower schools to embed safer practices internally; and reduce schools’ dependency on external courses. The company expanded its expert advisory group in 2012, bringing in Julie Wiggs, formerly of HM Customs & Excise, to support clients with post-incident documentation, investigation reports and evidential clarity. Her background and diligence PA R T N E R C O N T E N T 39 teachwire.net/secondary