Breakaway Techniques Training: What Employers Need to Know

Breakaway techniques are simple, low-risk physical skills that help a member of staff get free from a grab, hold or strike and move to safety. Non-restrictive breakaway doesn't hold or restrain the other person. Good breakaway training puts them last: most of the session goes on spotting rising distress and calming things down, so the physical skills are rarely needed.

What breakaway training is, and what it isn't

Breakaway is also called disengagement. The aim is narrow: get free and get away, when someone has hold of a wrist, sleeve or hair and talking hasn't worked.

The Restraint Reduction Network (RRN) Training Standards note that breakaway can be completely non-restrictive, or can include a restrictive component. A non-restrictive course teaches staff to free themselves and step away. It doesn't teach restraint, holding someone still, moving a person against their will, or fighting back.

Nor does it replace good support. If someone often grabs staff, start by understanding why. That's the work of positive behaviour support. Breakaway is the safety net underneath it.

De-escalation comes first

NICE guideline NG10 covers the short-term management of violence and aggression in mental health, health and community settings. It says restrictive interventions should only be used when de-escalation and other preventive strategies have failed. Its recommendations make a sound baseline for any team:

• Build the relationship early.
• Spot the early signs of agitation, irritation, anger and aggression.
• One person leads. If someone becomes agitated or angry, one member of staff takes the main role in talking with them.
• Respect personal space.
• Stay measured. Avoid provocation and keep your own anxiety or frustration in check.
• Show respect and empathy throughout.

HSE's guidance adds: be polite, use a clear, calm voice, keep a safe distance, and offer the person a way out other than aggression. If it feels unsafe, find a reason to step away and use your emergency procedures.

What the law expects of employers

No law names breakaway training, but the wider duties are clear. In Great Britain:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires you to protect staff's health, safety and welfare so far as is reasonably practicable. HSE is clear this includes work-related violence.
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, which HSE says includes the risk of violence, and require you to give staff information and training.
• RIDDOR 2013 requires you to report certain violent incidents to HSE.

Northern Ireland has equivalent law, including the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.

HSE defines work-related violence as "any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work". If your risk assessment shows staff could be grabbed, hit or bitten, you need controls. HSE's guidance for employers says no single measure works on its own and training should match the actual work. For community and primary care settings, NICE NG10 recommends organisations consider training staff in avoiding violence, "including anticipation, prevention, de-escalation and breakaway techniques". In England, CQC also checks that staff have the training their role needs; see our guide to mandatory training for care workers.

Breakaway and the RRN Training Standards

The RRN Training Standards were commissioned by Health Education England and published in 2019. They apply to training that includes restrictive intervention. The RRN says they are mandatory for that training in NHS-commissioned services in England for people with mental health conditions, people with learning disabilities, autistic people and people living with dementia, implemented through commissioning and inspection from April 2020. Also:

• CQC advised providers that all restraint training should be certified as complying with the Standards by April 2021.
• Statutory guidance under the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 expects mental health units in England to use training providers certified against the Standards.
• The Standards include a shorter route for staff who only need de-escalation and breakaway, so some commissioners ask for certification even for breakaway. Check your contract.

Kasorb's Breakaway course is not certified against the RRN Training Standards, and it teaches no restraint or restrictive intervention. If staff may need to restrain someone, or your commissioner requires an RRN-certified programme, you need a certified provider: our course won't meet that requirement. If your team only needs to get away safely and you don't use restraint, a non-restrictive course may fit your risk assessment.

These requirements apply in England. Elsewhere in the UK, check with your regulator (the Care Inspectorate, CIW or RQIA) and commissioners. The RRN is also piloting a second edition of the Standards, so check its current guidance.

Who books breakaway training

• Care and support workers in residential, supported living and home care services that don't use restraint
• Mental health, learning disability and autism teams where restraint isn't part of anyone's plan
• Lone and community workers, including housing and outreach staff
• Front-of-house and reception staff
• Team leaders who manage incidents and run debriefs

What to look for in a provider

• Prevention first. Most of the time should go on causes, warning signs and de-escalation.
• A straight answer on restriction. Ask whether anything taught holds or restricts a person.
• No pain-based techniques. For mental health units in England, statutory guidance rules out restraint or breakaway techniques that involve pain, except for an immediate rescue in a life-threatening situation.
• Real practice, with a trainer watching and giving feedback.
• Links to your risk assessment and care plans.
• Honesty about certification. If you need it, ask for current evidence. The RRN licenses BILD ACT to certify against its Standards.

After an incident

1. Make everyone safe and give first aid if needed.
2. Record it, including verbal abuse. HSE says a short note of what happened, when and who was involved is enough to start.
3. Report it if you must. Under RIDDOR, report work-related violence that causes a death, a specified injury, or keeps a worker off normal duties for more than seven days. Consider whether a safeguarding referral is needed too.
4. Support your staff. HSE suggests a chance to talk as soon as possible, counselling or details of services such as Victim Support, and changes to duties if someone is badly affected. NICE says staff involved should be able to talk it through with colleagues who weren't there.
5. Debrief and learn. Work out what led up to it and update the risk assessment and care plan.

How Kasorb can help

Kasorb's Breakaway course is a half-day session on site. It starts with a refresher on positive behaviour support and the causes of behaviour that challenges, then covers risk in care plans, keeping a safe space, situational awareness and positive body language. Staff learn to protect themselves from blows, reduce the risk from pinching, scratching and biting, and release from grabs on clothes, wrists, hair or neck, and from holds and strangles. It ends with what to do after an incident.

Everyone practises each technique under supervision, with feedback, and your trainer has used these skills for real. The practical involves some contact, so tell us about any injuries when you book. It's non-restrictive and not certified against the RRN Training Standards. Staff get a Kasorb certificate of completion, valid for one year and emailed the next day. It's quoted for your team.

This guide summarises the law and guidance; it isn't legal advice.

FAQs

What are breakaway techniques?

Simple physical skills that help staff get free from a grab, hold or strike and move to safety. Non-restrictive breakaway doesn't hold or restrain the other person. It's a last resort for when de-escalation hasn't worked.

Is breakaway training the same as restraint training?

No. Non-restrictive breakaway teaches staff to free themselves and step away. Restraint training teaches staff to hold or restrict a person's movement, and in many health and care settings in England it must be certified against the Restraint Reduction Network Training Standards.

Do care staff need RRN-certified breakaway training?

It depends on your service and contract. RRN certification is mandatory for training with a restrictive component in NHS-commissioned services in England, and some commissioners also require it for breakaway. If you use no restraint and your contract doesn't ask for it, a non-restrictive course may fit.

What are de-escalation techniques?

Calming a tense situation without force. NICE and HSE guidance point to building rapport early, spotting early signs of agitation, having one person do the talking, giving personal space, using a calm voice and offering a way out other than aggression.

How often should breakaway training be refreshed?

No law sets an interval. HSE advises periodic refresher training to keep skills current. Set a cycle in your training policy based on your risk assessment, and refresh sooner after an incident or a change in the people you support. Kasorb's certificate is valid for one year.