Ten families are pursuing a civil legal claim against a school trust and the London borough of Waltham Forest, alleging that children were subjected to "inhumane" and "barbaric" treatment in "calming rooms." The law firm Leigh Day is representing the families, who claim their children were falsely imprisoned and had their human rights breached.

Alison Millar, who is leading the case, stated that the actions taken against these children were "profoundly harmful, and its impact continues to be felt by families every day." The allegations stem from the use of seclusion rooms between 2014 and 2017, with CCTV footage of these practices emerging in 2021.

A review commissioned by Waltham Forest, released last month, found that the use of restraint and seclusion had become "normalised" at the school, fostering a culture that permitted "pejorative views of non-compliant children." The review also highlighted that parents described the practices as "unimaginable" and "inhumane."

Further investigations by the BBC have uncovered evidence of mistreatment at other schools across the UK, including a boy being "brutally" and "unlawfully" restrained on CCTV and an autistic child kept in a cage.

The Department for Education stated it had introduced a legal duty to record and report the use of seclusion but has declined to be interviewed about the broader failings or to consider making CCTV installation mandatory in such rooms, a requirement already in place for nurseries.

Families involved in the legal action argue that these measures are insufficient to prevent future abuse. Ricardo Gloria, father of David, who was placed in a calming room for three hours and recorded crying 38 times while asking to leave, said that "nothing has changed that would prevent the abuse at Whitefield happening again."

Jacqui Shurlock, chief executive of the charity Challenging Behaviour Foundation, urged the Department for Education to take more decisive action, stating that the department "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."

A spokesperson for Flourish Learning Trust, which managed the school during the period in question, confirmed it no longer operates any schools and its prior leadership is no longer in place. The school is now under the management of a different trust that supports the review's findings and is working to improve the care provided to pupils.

A Waltham Forest spokesperson acknowledged awareness of the ongoing civil legal action and declined to comment further while the case is pending.