Parents discourage retaliation for abuse in special needs schools

Parents of children who attend the school where a BBC Panorama investigation exposed abuse have appealed to people not to retaliate.

Some staff at Life Wirral, an independent school for children with special educational needs, were recorded by an undercover reporter using homophobic language and derogatory terms towards disabled people.

Its headquarters in Wallasey was vandalised shortly after the programme was broadcast in June.

A group of parents have appealed not to attack the “families of any of the people shown in the footage” because “they have done nothing wrong.”

The statement, released through a lawyer, also said they were disappointed that “appropriate agencies who were previously made aware of concerns about Life School… did not take appropriate action to protect our children.”

Following the broadcast of Cruelty In The Classroom, which also exposed incidents of abuse by school staff towards pupils, Wirral Council said it was launching an investigation into the school and its staff.

‘Disappointed’

Merseyside Police are also investigating Life Wirral, which was previously rated “good” by Ofsted.

The regulator said it found no irregularities during an ad hoc inspection carried out after concerns were raised about the school.

An independent review is underway into child protection practices and finding alternative placements for children who were withdrawn from school by the local authority after being shown the BBC evidence.

A statement from Wirral Council said: “We have always sought to use our powers to keep children safe and enable them to achieve educational outcomes, including working with the Department for Education as the regulator of independent schools and Ofsted as the inspectorate.

“We continue to work closely with the police as they gather and assess evidence in this case. Wirral Safeguarding Children Partnership will commission an independent review of child protection practices in due course.”

Life Wirral was approached for further comment but did not receive a response.

A school spokesman previously lashed out at the BBC, accusing it of “highly irresponsible behaviour” and “putting the interests of a television programme before those of vulnerable children”.

The school accused the undercover journalist of “neglecting her basic child protection duties to report serious concerns”, saying her actions put more vulnerable children at risk for longer.

Life Wirral stood by the claims but later added it “does not condone the behaviour of a small number of staff”.

The BBC continues to defend its investigation.

The corporation said: “The BBC takes the safety and protection of vulnerable people extremely seriously and has strict editorial guidelines around covert investigations, covert recordings and investigations involving children.

“Our investigation was in the public interest and the welfare of the children was our paramount concern.

“Our undercover reporter gathered evidence over a period of time so that we could be confident that what she witnessed was a clear pattern of behaviour involving multiple members of staff and consistent with the concerns that had been shared with us.”

The document added: “Before our investigation, the local authority and the school were already aware of concerns about safety that had been raised by others. Despite the investigation by the local authority, this did not result in any significant change.

“On the contrary, when we informed the local authorities of the results of our investigation, school allocations were suspended and new places for the children are being found elsewhere.”

Panorama – Undercover School: Cruelty in the Classroom

Watch the full investigation on BBC iPlayer.

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