Ten families are suing a special school in north London after CCTV footage reportedly showed their autistic children being locked inside padded rooms, which they describe as "inhumane" and "barbaric."
The lawsuit targets Whitefield Special School and its former operator, Flourish Learning Trust, as well as the local authority, Waltham Forest, on allegations that children with mental disorders or learning disabilities were harmed between 2014 and 2017.
Footage obtained by the BBC allegedly shows children being pushed into padded rooms, restrained by the neck, thrown to the floor, and left isolated. Some children were seen self-harming while confined for extended periods; one 12-year-old boy was reportedly in these rooms for over 55 hours across multiple incidents.
Parents claim their children's human rights were breached and that they were falsely imprisoned. Alison Millar, who is leading the legal case for the firm Leigh Day, stated that "What was done to these children was profoundly harmful, and its impact continues to be felt by families every day."
Investigation and Findings
A three-year police investigation into the allegations, which began in May 2021 after new school leadership discovered the CCTV, did not result in any charges. However, internal school investigations conducted by an HR consultant found that six employees were proven to have abused 39 pupils between 2014 and 2017. The review also indicated that at least one referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service was not made, and no staff members were dismissed as a result.
A review by Waltham Forest concluded that seclusion and restraint had become "normalised" at the school, fostering a culture that permitted "pejorative views of non-compliant children." Parents described the methods used as "inhumane" and "unimaginable."
Documents also suggest that Whitefield staff did not consistently record when pupils used the seclusion room. One report detailed a case where a student, David Gloria, spent three hours in a room, crying 38 times and repeatedly asking to leave, stating he did not understand why he was there.
Flourish Learning Trust stated that the "calming rooms" have not been used at the school since 2017 and that they no longer manage any schools, with no remaining previous leadership. The current trust managing Whitefield School has been working to transform the institution.
Calls for Reform and Official Response
While seclusion rooms are used in special schools to help manage challenging behaviors or sensory needs, the families argue that current Department of Education guidelines are insufficient. The Department of Education has introduced requirements for reporting and recording the use of seclusion and restraint, but families contend these do not go far enough to prevent future abuse.
Jacqui Shurlock, chief executive of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, urged the Department for Education to take immediate action. A Department for Education spokesperson acknowledged the "horrific" events at Whitefield as a "serious failure to protect children" and stated that safeguards have been strengthened, including a new legal duty for schools to record and report all incidents of seclusion and restraint to parents. The department indicated it would carefully consider the findings of the safeguarding review and act to prevent similar incidents.
A Waltham Forest council spokesperson stated the council is aware of the civil legal action and will not comment further while the legal proceedings are ongoing. Ricardo Gloria, David's father, has expressed concern that no changes have been made to prevent abuse from recurring at Whitefield, emphasizing the need for justice and rehabilitation for the victims and their families.