Three methods of physical restraint were videotaped and presented to two groups of subjects (undergraduate students and teenagers). Two of the methods recommended restraining a person with a learning difficulty on the ground; the other method proposed seating the individual in a chair. Subjects were asked to rate the social acceptability of the procedures using the Treatment Evaluation Inventory (TEI). Both undergraduate students and teenagers rated the chair method as more acceptable. The implications of these findings for the use of physical restraint procedures were discussed.

This article, the first in a three‐part series, discusses staff training in the management of violence and aggression. It begins by examining the setting conditions required to set up a training course. Training is placed in the context of an organisational system. A most crucial factor in the successful outcome of training is the provision of clear, precise policies and guidelines. The remainder of the article discusses some useful specifications within these policies.

The issue of doctors in management in the NHS is discussed and a model showing how these two key groups can work together most effectively and deal with potential conflict is offered. Four medical management styles, three management styles and three medical managerial structures are identified. When integrated into a matrix the best combinations of structure, medical and management styles can be identified. It is noted that there are only seven combinations that are likely to prove effective and that these should be taken into account when designing organisation structure in the NHS.

Challenging behaviour among children with severe learning difficulties has drawn relatively little attention from educationists. Dr John McEvoy, Andrew McDonnell and Bob Dearden, who have been running workshops in behaviour management in Birmingham, seek to explore this issue further and offer their views on policy and training.

The first article in this series emphasised the setting conditions required for staff training in the management of violence and aggression. This second article presents strategies for avoidance and escape in the management of potentially violent situations using non‐violent methods. One simple, non‐violent method is illustrated.