Vulnerable pupils locked away and left ‘effectively invisible’, safeguarding review finds

Schools in a London borough will be ordered to assess all safeguarding practices after a review into a special school’s seclusion policies made vulnerable pupils “effectively invisible”.

Whitefield School in Waltham Forest was found to have used “excessive and inappropriate physical restraint” and “prolonged periods of seclusion” on 38 pupils with complex learning needs between 2014 and 2017 by a local child safeguarding practice review released this week.

The school placed pupils in a padded and locked windowless room. At times the children were “dragged by their arms, pulled, slammed into doors, and pushed by staff into the room”.

The review, carried out by specialists Sarah Holtom and Tina Harvey, was ordered following the discovery of more than 500 hours of CCTV footage showing the harmful practices.

The review concluded that the seclusion rooms represented “a significant safeguarding failure, raising serious concerns regarding the restriction of children’s liberty, emotional wellbeing and the ability of staff, leadership and governance of the school to recognise and respond appropriately to harmful practice”.

It also called on government to clarify how safeguarding arrangements are carried out between councils, academy trusts and other relevant agencies.

‘Harmful’ practices

Whitefield school’s seclusion policy during the period was displayed on its website.

It said that seclusion was resorted to in “extreme cases as an emergency procedure when there is a significant risk that the person presenting the challenging behaviour poses a physical threat to other people”.

It said seclusion could only be used as a written action in a child’s behaviour plan, which had to be signed off by a parent.

But the review found “communication to parents lacked transparency descriptions of the physical environment and the punitive nature of the isolation”, which “distorted” perceptions.

The use of rooms was first discovered during an Ofsted inspection in 2017, which resulted in an ‘inadequate’ rating.

Inspectors noted that leaders were “unable to demonstrate that the use of secure rooms is appropriate, effective or proportionate to the needs of the pupils being placed in them”.

The school quickly stopped using the rooms following inspection, and told Waltham Forest CCTV was only used for real-time observation rather than being recorded and stored, the review found.

But in May 2021, the multi-academy trust discovered more than 500 hours of CCTV footage, which triggered a local safeguarding review and criminal investigation. The footage was eventually leaked in a BBC investigation in 2024.

Impact on pupils

Parents and carers told the review their children experienced heightened distress, presentation of challenging behaviours and reluctance to go to school.

“In some cases, children returned home hungry, emotionally dysregulated, or displaying behaviours suggesting of trauma, including night-time crying, self-harm, and anxiety linked to closed or locked doors,” the review stated.

Other parents noticed injuries on their children, the review said.

The review found the use of the rooms was “excessive and unreasonable” and left them “effectively invisible”.

Despite CCTV being used for observation, the review found insufficient evidence that this monitoring was used to assess pupil welfare or inform what interventions might help them.

It was “deeply concerning that the children’s distress, vulnerability and unmet safeguarding needs became effectively invisible to those working within the school environment on a daily basis”, the review said.

But it added it was “difficult” to understand why the practices were in place, but considered that some staff may have felt insufficiently equipped to respond safely and therapeutically to children with complex behaviour, communication, and sensory needs.

Poor internal and external scrutiny

The review found “significant weaknesses” in leadership, governance and safeguarding oversight in the school. The school was ran by the Flourish Trust, which closed down in 2025.

The report said senior leaders and trustees did not demonstrate scrutinise the practices enough.

“Responsibility for safeguarding children did not rest solely with frontline staff. Leadership, governance, and wider multi-agency safeguarding systems did not adequately provide the scrutiny, oversight, challenge, and a safeguarding culture necessary to identify, prevent, and respond to the harms experienced by the children.”

External scrutiny was “obstructed” by factors including reputational risk of the school, a “closed” organisational culture, dynamic between the council and academy schools, and the governance and leadership arrangements within the academy system, it said.

Despite Waltham Forest visiting the school promptly after Ofsted’s inspection, the review found its “level of professional curiosity and challenge applied to the information available was insufficient to fully test the school’s assurances”.

This includes limited direct engagement with the affected families, the review said.

Whole-borough audit

The review said the Department for Education should clarify how accountability and oversight between councils, regulators, academies and independent schools should take place in cases of safeguarding incidents.

It also said Waltham Forest should review and respond to the potential trauma experienced by the 38 children, and carry out an audit on all available SEND places in the borough.

Schools in the area – including those that use restrictive practices – should “provide assurance” to the council that it follows best practice for safeguarding arrangements and oversight, the review said.

It also recommended the council review its safeguarding arrangements.

Schools should also revise behaviour support plans to ensure they are in line with statutory requirements, the review said.

‘We owe it to them to improve’

Waltham Forest’s cabinet member for children and young people Daisy Richards said: “We recognise the upset and pain caused to the children involved and their parents or carers.

“We owe it to them to improve the way that we work and how we share information with other agencies to prevent something like this ever happening again.”

Richards confirmed that all schools will be ordered to review safeguarding training and best practice.

New DfE guidance, set to be enforced in September, says schools should record the use of seclusion and inform parents.

The Learning in Harmony Trust, which took over the school in 2025, said: “We recognise the significance of the findings set out in this review, and our thoughts remain with the children and families affected.

“Since the school became part of our trust in 2025, we have worked closely with partners throughout the review process and remain committed to ensuring every pupil is educated in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.”