Watchdog ‘appalled’ by use of restraint on autistic children at London school

The children’s commissioner for England has called for an urgent review of the use of restraint and “calming rooms” after leaked CCTV footage showed autistic children being pushed into a padded space where they were left distressed, self-harming and sitting in vomit.

Footage obtained by the BBC as part of a three-year investigation into allegations of abuse and mistreatment of vulnerable children at a north London special school between 2014 and 2017 reveals for the first time the graphic reality of what happened.

In one clip, staff at Whitefield special school in Walthamstow can be seen using a rugby training-style pad to force one child into the corner of a room, while others are physically manhandled and left alone for hours in a windowless room in clear distress.

The children’s commissioner, Rachel de Souza, said: “The experiences of these children are absolutely appalling. My heart goes out to them and their families. No child should ever be physically restrained under such conditions and with such a lack of compassion, especially those who are so vulnerable.”

Leadership at the school has changed and calming rooms have not been used at Whitefield since 2017, but parents whose children are still struggling with the consequences of their traumatic experiences are outraged that no one has been held to account.

According to the BBC, about 40 children with learning disabilities and severe mental disorders were confined for hours, often without food or drink. After viewing the CCTV for the first time, the mother of one of the abused children said: “It broke my heart. You wouldn’t even do that to a dog.”

De Souza expressed frustration that a serious case review to identify failings and lessons to be learned had yet to take place. “Since the allegations of abuse at Whitefield school first came to light, I have pushed for a formal review of the circumstances to be carried out. This was agreed but it must now happen without delay to uncover where children who were so badly failed could have been kept safe,” she said.

“Restraint against children should only ever be used when it is essential to keep a child safe. We need to look again at the guidance and regulation around restraint and so-called ‘calming rooms’ so that, when it is truly necessary, professions have much clearer understanding that it should be used only in the most serious cases and for the shortest time possible.”

The government said it was considering revising guidance that says removing disruptive pupils from classrooms in England must be for a “limited” duration and facilities must be “suitable”.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “As everyone would agree this is a horrendous case that has clearly caused significant harm to vulnerable children and it must never happen again. The Department for Education will closely examine the findings of the investigations as soon as they are available. The department is looking at strengthening the guidance and will set out more information in due course.”

Whitefield school was judged “outstanding” until 2017, when Ofsted discovered the use of bare, padded rooms without windows to seclude children. Four years later a box of USB memory sticks was discovered featuring extensive footage of pupils in the school’s seclusion rooms.

Police viewed more than 500 hours of CCTV footage as part of their investigation and files were submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to a number of people connected to the school. The CPS said later that based on the evidence available, the suspects would face no further action.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “We continue to look at information connected to alleged abuse at a school in Walthamstow between 2014 and 2017 … We are committed to keeping children safe and protecting vulnerable people from harm and will investigate all reports of abuse and neglect.”

Mel Merritt, the head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said: “There are more than 200,000 school-age autistic children in England. When they’re at school they deserve dignity, respect and support from staff who are equipped to meet their needs. Whatever a child’s behaviour, wherever they’re at school there is no excuse for abuse.”

A spokesperson for Flourish Learning Trust, which now runs Whitefield school, said: “This matter dates back almost a decade and pre-dates the current leadership of both the school and Flourish Learning Trust, which is responsible for the school. Lessons have been learned throughout this process and the school is stronger because of this. We want to work with other agencies to ensure that moving forwards other children and young people never have to face similar experiences again.”

The leader of Waltham Forest council, Grace Williams, said the council would continue to offer therapeutic support to families affected by events. “Now that the criminal investigation into staff at Whitefield has concluded, safeguarding partners will commission an independent expert to carry out a local children safeguarding practice review to ensure the lessons of this distressing case are learned.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have been meeting regularly with the school and partner agencies to make sure the right support is offered to pupils and families, and will be looking closely at the findings of the police and safeguarding investigations as soon as they are available.

“We are looking at how we strengthen our guidance on the use of force and seclusion in schools and will provide more information as soon as possible.”