special measures

English

Noun

special measures pl (plural only)

1. (UK) External administration for a failing public service such as a school or hospital.
   • 2004, K.B. Everard, Geoff Morris, Ian Wilson, Effective School Management, SAGE, →ISBN, page 228:

     The LEA is required to support schools in special measures or with serious weaknesses.

   • 2006, Great Britain. National Audit Office, Improving Poorly Performing Schools in England, The Stationery Office, →ISBN, page 37:

     Before the 2005 Schools White Paper, schools put into Special Measures have been aware that they might face closure if they did not improve within about two years.

   • 2013, Selchouk Sami, The Book on Entrepreneurship and Property: The Guide to Successful Entrepreneurship and Property Investment, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 78:

     The governments new proposals intend to make the following changes and introductions: [...] Placing underperforming council planning departments into “special measures” and allowing developers to bypass them if they fail to improve.

   • 2015, Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), Good Governance Handbook, Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) →ISBN, page 22

     These organisations were put into special measures and their boards placed under high levels of scrutiny around how they were focusing on quality and patient safety issues.

2. (Scots law) Judicial systems to protect vulnerable witnesses in courts of law.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see special,‎ measures.