By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
Parents say they feel “let down” by the system following the closure of a Nottinghamshire special school over safety concerns.
“Serious safeguarding matters” were found during a visit by the education watchdog to Harlow Academy, near Mansfield, in January 2022.
Parents say they had previously told teachers, Nottinghamshire County Council and Ofsted about their concerns from September 2021 onwards but claim they were “palmed off”.
It was not until an unannounced inspection by Ofsted in January 2022 that the school was closed.
Inspectors found some children’s “basic needs weren’t being met” and indicated that children were neglected while in school. They said while staff did their best, there were not enough of them to ensure children were safe.
An independent review into what happened would later describe reports of some children being restrained inappropriately, not being provided with the right specialist equipment and unsafe levels of staffing.
At the time of the closure by Ofsted, the school had 79 pupils, aged three to 18, with severe learning difficulties
and physical disabilities.
The school, which was run by the Evolve Trust, was closed down following the concerns. The building has since re-opened under different leadership as Fountaindale School, under an entirely different provider, the Nexus Trust.
The Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP), which co-ordinates how the authorities protect local children, says it is now making a series of changes so concerns are followed up more effectively in future.
Kerrie’s son Aaron has congenital myotonic dystrophy. She said his experiences at the school were “quite horrendous”.
She said: “By September 2021, Aaron was getting upset going to school. It was so distressing for him.
“I raised it with the school but I was palmed off. We reported it to the County Council and Ofsted.
“My child was coming home with wet clothes because he leaked his pads.
“I feel guilt now because I wouldn’t have sent him to school if I knew how bad it really was.
“The county council should have stepped in when they heard about our concerns.”
Lindsay’s son has congenital myotonic dystrophy, autism and ADHD.
She said he was “traumatised” by his experience at Harlow Academy and added that families have been “let down” by Nottinghamshire County Council and Harlow Academy.
She said: “He loved school but then he started to cry every day and didn’t want to go.
“His attachment issues to me got so bad that I literally couldn’t move away from him.
“I knew there were staffing issues but I didn’t realise how bad it was.
“He is supposed to have a posture chair at school but they have had to take it out of the classroom. He is petrified of it because he was restrained in it a lot.
“Suddenly if he’s sat on the sofa he will say to me ‘can I get out?’. It’s the panic of him being restrained. The trauma he went through is constantly in his head.”
She added communication from the new Fountaindale School system has been “brilliant”.
Tracy Waplington’s daughter Charlotte, who requires care 24 hours a day, first started at Harlow Academy at three years old and she is now 16.
Her mum says staff stopped Charlotte’s physiotherapy sessions without notifying her and her daughter came home with pressure sores.
She says families were “left in the dark” about what happened to their children.
Ms Waplington said: “As a result of what happened to her, Charlotte’s anxiety is through the roof. Even if I go upstairs she panics. She’s not the same Charlotte we used to know.
“I have noticed a difference in the new school and she does seem happier now.
“The staff knew what was happening at Harlow, I just wish that they came forward.
“I do feel that this could happen again. What happened has totally destroyed our kids.”
The Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP), which co-ordinates how authorities including Nottinghamshire County Council protect children, said “it is clear that there are lessons to be learnt”.
The partnership has already requested an independent review into Harlow Academy, which was published in June and found the school was not safe for children.
The partnership said: “On behalf of the partnership, we fully accept the findings set out [in the review].
“We would like to reassure families that the partnership is committed to making sure that children are kept safe. We are working together to ensure that all of the recommendations for the individual Nottinghamshire agencies and the partnership are swiftly actioned.”
An Ofsted spokesperson added it is now looking at the way it identifies concerns around children’s safety with other agencies.
They said: “Our inspections are one way of highlighting problems where it is for other agencies with statutory responsibilities for safeguarding to take action.
“The inspection of this school highlights the importance of those agencies acting quickly when concerns are raised.”
