Care experts and parents of some of the country's most vulnerable children are fighting for new rules on restraining children with special needs in Scottish schools.

The Scottish government is now being petitioned to draft new national guidelines following incidences in schools of "prone restraint, inappropriate wheelchair restraint and children being kept in seclusion". Scotland's Commissioner for Children supports the petition.

For the children, many of whom have severe communication difficulties, this can be highly distressing and traumatic. One of the parents behind the petition is a mother whose own child, aged 11, was held face down on the floor by four adults at his school in such a way that caused symptoms consistent with positional asphyxia, and left him, she alleges, with over sixty bruises.

The campaigners are also calling for the government to appoint a specific agency to monitor and evaluate the care of vulnerable children with learning disabilities and other special needs in schools. Beth Morrison, one of the parents who lodged the petition, said inspectors monitor educatio, but asked, "Who is inspecting the care?"

Among her concerns is the over use of quiet rooms and safe rooms which she says are "basically padded cells".

Ian Hood, Coordinator of the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland, which is backing the petition, said the lack of national standards had meant that "in some circumstances, bad practice has arisen and parents have little recourse to challenge teaching and other support staff."

Dr Brodie Paterson, an expert in challenging behaviour and restraint at CALM (Crisis And Aggression Limitation) Training, has been so concerned about lack of guidance that he recently created a draft guide to help headteachers forced to draw up their own policies. Since the overarching responsibility for protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities lies with the Scottish Government, he argued, "their failure to detail policy guidance means they're not safeguarding the human rights of some really vulnerable kids."

The petition coincides with ongoing investigations into Kingspark school in Dundee, where eleven families have lodged complaints, alleging their children had been physically abused, neglected, or illegally restrained, and listed a shocking catalogue of unexplained injuries. Allegedly two children came home with broken teeth. One girl, over a period of 18 months, had over 100 injuries and said she had been pulled by her hair. Another child was strapped so tightly in her wheelchair that she could hardly breathe.

Serious Crime Division are currently reviewing the cases. A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: "The council is cooperating fully with an ongoing police investigation and will be making no further comment until that has been completed."

Kingspark is not the only school to have had complaints around restraint. The Sunday Herald has also heard from parents of children in schools in a number of other local authorities. One of the problems, said training expert Brodie Paterson, is that, because of the lack of guidance, the approach to challenging behaviour is variable across the country. Some 18 months ago, Safe And Well, the one document which provides basic national guidance, was withdrawn and the Scottish Government wrote to local authorities telling them they needed to draw up their own guidelines. Many local authorities did nothing. The result is, Paterson said, "We have some local authorities that don't have guidance, some that have not very good guidance, and some that have hands off policies."

Paterson insists that "hands off" policies are not in these children's interest. "Children with complex global learning difficulties can be a danger to themselves and other people." In England and Wales, the Department for Education guidance states no school should have a "hands off' policy.

Paterson also believes that restraint must still be happening in challenging situations in these "hands off" authorities. This he believes is dangerous, as staff need to be trained to restrain or may end up doing so in ways that are unsafe. In America, for instance, there is research which details a significant number of children who have died while being restrained. The US Government Accountability Office has recorded 20 children who have died from restraint. "What we're trying to do," said Paterson, "is avoid more traumatic interventions, for example being held face down or face up on the floor."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: "Updated guidance on the use of physical restraint was published in 2013 and can be applied in all settings, including schools." However, the document they direct people to, Holding Safely, is, Paterson believes, inadequate. "It was produced," he said, "for residential childcare and geared towards children with emotional behavioural disorders - a different population from those with severe complex global learning difficulties. "

Tam Baillie, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People welcomed the petition and said it raised some key questions about the current use of restraint in all school settings in Scotland. However he said restraint should only be used where "necessary to protect a child or others" and "as a last resort."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said, "Physical restraint should only be used when absolutely necessary and when in the best interests of the child. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Scotland's children and young people and each local authority is responsible for the care, safety and welfare of pupils in school."