Families Sue Special School Over Abuse of Autistic Children in Calming Rooms

Parents are suing a special school after a BBC investigation uncovered CCTV footage showing autistic children being locked inside calming rooms and abused.

Ten families are claiming that their children – all of whom had learning disabilities or several mental disorders - were amongst those harmed by their treatment in the rooms.

A police investigation into the abuse, recorded inside the rooms at Whitefield special school in north London, ended two years ago without any charges.

The school is now run by a new trust which says the failings have led to "important learning".

Many special schools use seclusion spaces such as calming rooms outside of classrooms to address sensory needs or challenging behaviour.

But the leaked footage obtained by the BBC showed children being shoved into padded rooms, thrown to the floor, restrained by the neck - or left alone, sitting in vomit.

One 12-year-old boy appeared in over 55 hours of CCTV footage filmed inside the rooms.

At the time, the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said the use of the rooms was "horrifying".

Leigh Day is now bringing a civil legal claim on behalf of 10 families against the trust which ran the school and the London borough of Waltham Forest.

The law firm says the use of the rooms was "barbaric", according to its clients. The claim alleges that children were falsely imprisoned and their human rights were breached.

"What was done to these children was profoundly harmful, and its impact continues to be felt by families every day", says Alison Millar, who is leading the case.

The CCTV obtained by the BBC had been recorded between 2014 and 2017 but only emerged in 2021.

Last month, a long-delayed review commissioned by Waltham Forest found that restraint and seclusion became "normalised" and a culture developed that allowed "pejorative views of non-compliant children".

It added that parents were clear that the practices were "unimaginable" and "inhumane".

The BBC has also found evidence of mistreatment in seclusion rooms at other schools across the UK.

CCTV from a different school showed a boy being "brutally" and "unlawfully" restrained, while elsewhere an autistic child was kept inside a cage.

The Department for Education has repeatedly declined to be interviewed about the failings in school seclusion rooms – or consider making CCTV installation mandatory inside them, as with nurseries.

It did introduce a legal duty to record and report the use of seclusion.

But the families of Whitefield children say this is not nearly enough – and would not prevent similar abuse happening again.

The BBC also uncovered documents showing staff did record the use of seclusion for some pupils at Whitefield.

One observation report of David Gloria's three-hour placement in a calming room recorded him crying on 38 separate occasions over the period, while asking to leave throughout.

He was also documented saying he was "confused" and did not "understand" why he was there.

David's father, Ricardo, said that nothing has changed that would prevent the abuse at Whitefield happening again and families have been abandoned to care for their traumatised children.

"The extended delays have hindered justice for the children who suffered unfair treatment at Whitefield's School over the years.

"It is crucial that some form of justice and a rehabilitation plan are established for the victims and their families."

The Department for Education must act now to ensure the abuse at Whitefield never happens again, according to Jacqui Shurlock, chief executive of the charity Challenging Behaviour Foundation.

"The DfE has not taken sufficient action to stop the use of rooms which sound therapeutic, but are in fact used to seclude children for lengthy periods, leading to significant harm."

The Department for Education said it had also revised guidance on the use of seclusion and planned to respond to the council's safeguarding review.

"What happened at Whitefield was horrific, and a serious failure to protect children who needed it most", said a spokesperson.

A spokesperson for Flourish Learning Trust, which ran the school when the footage was discovered, said it no longer operates any schools and none of the prior leadership are still in post.

"Whitefield School itself is now being run by a different trust which supports the outcomes from the review and has been working hard to transform the school and give every pupil the care, dignity and support they rightfully deserve."

A Waltham Forest spokesperson said: "We are aware of the civil legal action led by Leigh Day. We will not be commenting further while legal action is ongoing."