Physical Intervention Course

How long is the course?

1 day based on completion of a Training Needs Analysis to determine the level of training required in relation to the risks faced in the working environment and the duties / job description of the candidates.

Where and when are the courses run?

We run group courses (min. 6 candidates) for clients throughout the UK, either at the client’s own workplace or at one of our established Training Centres.

Courses are run at the convenience of our clients, including weekends where required.

How do I book?

Please complete our ‘Booking Enquiry Form’ or call us on 0845 602 55 95 (low call rate) / 01784 434 392 to book over the telephone.

How much does it cost?

£110.00 + vat per candidate; all inclusive of course materials, tuition, hand-outs & certification. There are No Hidden Extras; everything is covered by the course fee.

We provide tea, coffee and water during the course, candidates must provide their own lunch.

What is Physical Intervention (PI)?

Physical Intervention is a set of techniques successful candidates will have at their disposal when conflict management skills fail and any physical contact is made / required between an employee and a ‘customer’.

Our break-away and disengagement techniques protect employees against physical attack, while our restraint and escorting techniques provide a safe low-impact professional approach when an employee has to intervene physically in the course of their duties, to restrain, escort or remove a ‘customer’.

Our techniques are designed so that force and strength are NOT required to ensure success. We use low-impact disengagement and break-away techniques which allow vulnerable employees to protect themselves, create space and ‘escape’ from aggressive or violent individuals; thus reducing the risk of the situation spiralling further out of control. Our techniques rely on a good understanding of the technique rather than on the relative strengths of those involved.

Our restraint and escorting techniques are designed to be low-impact and NOT to rely on any form of outdated 'pre-emptive strikes' or 'pain-compliance' which inevitably raises the level of aggression and violence presented.

All techniques are easy to learn, easy to master, easy to remember and most importantly easy to implement in real life situations away from the classroom.

For more details please see our Physical Intervention Course Overview page.

Who should attend this course?

The course is designed specifically for each individual client and reflects the outcome of a Training Needs Analysis we carry out for all new clients. This process allows us to concentrate our efforts on those techniques which best suit the needs of the candidates attending.

The course is designed for employees who in the course of their duties face a real risk of either aggression, violence or physical assault or who are expected as part of their work to physically intervene to restrain, escort or remove individuals from a premises.

The training is effective for lone workers, however restraint and escorting techniques are designed to be effective when people are working as part of a team. The mutual understanding of the techniques allows members of a team to work together to resolve problems. This significantly reduces the risk to themselves, their colleagues, other customers, the people they are dealing with and your business.

What does the course cover?

Review of conflict management theory • Re-emphasis of primary controls • Review of the law relating to the use of force • Physical intervention theory • Conflict management & physical intervention flowchart • Medical implications of physical intervention & restraint • Alternatives to physical intervention • Exit strategies • Teamwork • Weapons awareness • Searching procedures & law • Warm-up • Stance • Movement • Determining space • Positioning • Blocks • Defensive walls • Distraction techniques • Defensive floor techniques • Break-away / disengagement techniques • Wrist grip release • Clothing grip release • Neck and strangle release • Hook and turn (rescue & separation) • Escorting techniques • Non-restrictive guiding • Cradle & hook escort • Single person escort • Two & three person escorts • Restraint techniques • Wrap around restraint • Sitting restraint hook • Assist to ground • Ground restraint • Combination techniques •

We have made a sample Physical Intervention - Learning Programme available to download.

What is the outcome of the course?

Candidates will be able to perform a variety of break-away, disengagement and personal safety techniques. For those courses including restraint and escorting, candidates will also have the skills to perform these techniques when called upon to do so in their workplace.

Candidates will gain a better understanding of the need to use conflict management skills rather than physical intervention as their first approach and appreciate the need to use low-impact techniques rather than outdated ‘pain-compliant’ techniques or those which rely on disabling an aggressor.

On successfully completing the Physical Intervention course, candidates will receive an individually numbered certificate of attendance from Beyond The Blue.

How is the course assessed?

There is no examination and candidates are awarded the certificate for successfully completing the course, providing they take a full and active part throughout all sessions and satisfy the instructor of their comprehension of the subject and proficiency in all of the techniques.

Who accredits the course?

The course is accredited by Beyond The Blue.

Why choose Beyond The Blue as your training provider?

We employ only specialist instructors to run our courses; they all have extensive experience in the relevant fields. They train with the objective of transferring knowledge and skills to help candidates succeed and be more effective in their workplace.

The experience of our instructors brings the subject they are teaching to life. Our training is based on a variety of training methods and comprises classroom based learning, scenario based learning, group work and interactive discussion; this approach allows us to meet the preferred learning styles of all candidates.

Our success is measured in the success of those people we train, we are focussed on providing excellence in customer service both pre and post training.

Beyond The Blue is a ‘BIIAB Grade 1’ Training Centre (The BIIAB describe Grade 1 as ‘demonstrating outstanding quality procedures’).

For more reasons why you should choose Beyond The Blue as your training provider please visit the Why Choose Us page and read what our clients say about us on our Testimonials page.

Additional information

Many employers shy away from Physical Intervention courses for their employees as they see it as a step too far and the risks involved to their business are misunderstood. This often puts their business at more risk as untrained employees can pose liability issues to their employers. For more details and analysis, as well as expert opinion please visit our Physical Intervention – The Risks page.

The difference between our physical intervention techniques and more 'traditional' self-defence courses which are based on martial arts or similar complex techniques, is that these generally take a long time to learn and to achieve competency in. The complicated nature of 'traditional' self-defence techniques means that unless they are regularly practiced they can be easily forgotten or performed incorrectly in stressful situations. They often also rely on pain-compliance techniques or strikes to disable the aggressor. This means that if you get it wrong, the pain inflicted on an aggressor is likely to make them more aggressive.

The low-impact break-away, disengagement, restraint and escorting techniques we teach are easy to learn, easy to master, easy to remember and easy to implement in real life situations away from the classroom; they will not aggravate an aggressor further because they do not rely on excessive force or pain-compliance for success. The outcome will be to create distance between you and the aggressor, allowing you to use your conflict management skills to reassess and resolve the situation or to get help.

We recommend that candidates complete a Conflict Management and Resolution course prior to attending a Physical Intervention course. This ensures they have the conflict management skills to use initially and exhaust all other options, before turning their newly acquired physical intervention techniques.