Ethical Care PMVA is the oldest established company providing conflict resolution and physical intervention training in the UK. Professor Tom Starling ISM founded the system used by the Home Office today in the use of Control and Restraint. In 1988 he was awarded the 'Butler Trust Award' and bursary by HRH Princess Anne for his innovation. Upon retirement in 1988 from the Prison service Professor Starling founded Dignified Control and Restraint Training 'A dignified approach'. In 1996 the company was renamed Ethical Care Control and Restraint (UK) Limited.
In 1996 I was a National Trainer with the Home Office Prison Department and after 11 years in this role took early retirement and took over as Director of Ethical Care we continued to deliver training in all areas of care and areas that nobody else would go, such as fostering and adoption services and community services.
Ethical Care had the first joint NOCN and Anglian Ruskin University accreditation to train the trainer. We worked with the Anglian Ruskin University with the original ENB 958/769 course work which was very much the forerunner of the A74 courses in Train the Trainer, and with Essex University where we presently have 2 Ethical Care Trainers within the school of Health in Occupational Therapy and Mental Health departments delivering Ethical Care PMVA. At present we are working together with the development of online theory-based training both for the University and Ethical Care.
2001 Jenna joined the company and established herself as a first-class trainer and later became Director of training within Ethical Care. She has her security training company and has had NOCN accreditation and maintains centre status with Highfield Qualification delivering SIA training.
In 2006 I was approached by the Home Secretary The RT Hon. Charles Clarke MP to help establish unilateral safe physical intervention training standards across public services.
The Home Secretary was particularly interested in our involvement with advice for the HM Prison department on the death of Kenneth Severin at Belmarsh Prison in 1995 and also advice given to Dr Ian Gibson MP Norwich North for the inquest on the death of David Bennett at the regional secure unit at the Norvic clinic in 1998.
Mr Clarke was somewhat disillusioned at the reluctance shown to him and ourselves that training in conflict management in public services appeared not to be able to agree on what standards should be in place to prevent such further tragedies.
In 2009 Ethical Care advised and shared our course material and practical skill training with the Home Office conflict resolution team. They utilised our shared knowledge to research and develop best practices. This formed part of the recommendation from the government's independent review of restraint for young people.
I have taught our system in all the 4 countries of the UK and various countries abroad using the same guidance and legal framework we have always delivered and insisted on with our ISO accreditations as a benchmark before the establishment of the RRN BILD Association of Certified Training was put in place.
Fourteenth years continuous accreditation