Classrooms ban detention after pupil cites human rights

After-school detention for pupils has been banned in hundreds of schools across Scotland amid fears that the punishment could be in breach of human rights.

Four education authorities have outlawed the practice, while three others have instigated a new policy requiring teachers to obtain parental permission before keeping pupils behind after normal school hours.

The move is in response to a lawsuit filed by a 15-year-old girl who claims the detention she received while a pupil at Speyside High School in Aberlour, Banffshire, seriously disrupted her education and violated her human rights.

Freya Macdonald launched legal action against Moray council, claiming that her punishments were in contravention of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states it is illegal to detain children in an educational establishment against their will without a court order. Her lawyers have also cited Article 2 of the ECHR, which ensures the right of every child to an education, and Article 3, which protects children from degrading treatment.

The teenager, who is being represented by Cameron Fyfe, one of Scotland's leading civil rights lawyers, claims that repeated detentions disrupted her education and prevented her from attending school until her teachers and headmaster agreed in writing to respect her civil rights.

Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Fife and Stirling councils have warned schools to drop detention. Aberdeen, Edinburgh and East Renfrewshire councils have changed their rules to ensure teachers obtain the permission of parents before issuing any detentions.

But the ban has angered some. Bill Fitzpatrick, former president of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association, said: "It is high time we started taking parents of the most unruly pupils through the courts ourselves."