Review calls for immediate action from local authorities and OFSTED after serious failings revealed
A national review into the implementation of safeguarding procedures has revealed serious failures at special schools for children with disabilities and complex health needs.
The review found safeguarding failures at three residential special schools registered at children’s homes following a review of 10 children’s and young adults experiences living at Fullerton House, Wilsic Hall and Wheatley House, located in Doncaster and operated by the Hesley Group, following allegations of abuse.
The investigation revealed a culture of abuse and harm, including evidence of physical abuse and violence, neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual harm.
Further findings showed evidence of medication that was misused and maladministered, an over-use of restraints, and unsafe and inappropriate use of temporary confinement.
The children in these homes were placed from 55 local authorities across the country and there is a complex abuse investigation underway by the Doncaster Safeguarding Partnership, which includes a concurrent criminal investigation by South Yorkshire Police.
Following the allegations of abuse and findings from the subsequent investigation the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has issued an urgent action to all local authorities to ensure all children with complex needs and disabilities currently living in similar children’s homes are safe and well.
Panel Chair, Annie Hudson, said:
“This national review seeks to make sense of how and why a significant number of children with disabilities and complex needs came to suffer very serious abuse and neglect whilst living in 3 privately provided residential settings.
Our evidence shows that the system of checks and balances which should have detected that things were going wrong simply did not work.
While there are many skilled professionals who work with children with disabilities, we are concerned that these are not isolated incidents. That’s why we have asked all local authorities and Ofsted to take urgent action to ensure all children living in similar circumstances are safe and well.”
Lead Panel Member for the review, Dr Susan Tranter, said:
“Children with disabilities and complex health needs are some of the most vulnerable in our society but they are too often overlooked and forgotten.
Following allegations that a significant number of children who were living far away from home, often with limited communication skills, were trapped in settings where systemic and sustained abuse was inflicted with no respite, we spoke to those responsible for placing the children in these settings and for checking on their welfare to understand exactly what went wrong.
It is clear to us that the standards of practice in care are failing to meet the needs of children with complex needs. The second phase of this national review will explore the systemic issues in children’s social care, health and education that must be addressed to ensure we learn from these horrific incidents and to prevent this from happening again.”
Dame Christine Lenehan, Strategic Director of the National Children’s Bureau and Council for Disabled Children, said:
“This review demonstrates that the residential settings responsible for taking care of these children did not have a clear vision to safeguard them from abuse. The lack of accountability across the residential care system means there is too little ownership for the safety of children with complex needs and, as a consequence, many have suffered, or are at risk of suffering, harm and abuse. We urgently need a shift in thinking, so that these children’s rights to live safely in supportive and nurturing homes is guaranteed.”
The government have said those involved in the direct abuse of children with complex needs will be held to account, however the review has also shined a light on those indirectly responsible for not putting in place correct safeguarding protocols which would have eliminated these threats at their source.
The phase one report sets out that Ofsted received a number of complaints dating back to at least 2015, expressing concerns over staffing levels, staff conduct and possible abuse of the children. These complaints had promoted additional monitoring visits and an emergency inspection, but the review has found these were insufficient as both settings had been judged “good” by Ofsted at the most recent inspection visit. In light of the most recent allegations, Ofsted conducted emergency inspections of the settings in March 2021 and notices of suspension of the service were served.
In addition to this, local authorities and partner agencies placing children at these homes put great reliance on the reports provided by the settings, despite professionals in different roles having separate information indicating concerns. The processes in place for bringing together information from a range of sources to analyse the pattern of safeguarding concerns was not effective.
To address these, the panel has requested local authorities and Ofsted to undertake urgent action:
- local authorities should review complaints and concerns relating to the workforce in each individual residential special school registered as a children’s home over the last three years, and ensure these have been appropriately actioned
- OFSTED should conduct an immediate analysis of their evidence around workforce sufficiency focusing on suitability, training and support
