CCTV footage from Whitefield School in north-east London reveals autistic children being shoved into padded rooms, restrained by the neck, and left in distress, some sitting in their vomit. The disturbing videos, obtained by a prominent UK-based news source, document incidents from 2014 to 2017 and have been described as “torture” by a safeguarding expert.
The footage shows children, many non-verbal, confined in “calming rooms” for hours without food or water. In one clip, staff intervened only when a boy threw shoes at the camera, with a teaching assistant allegedly striking him. Another video shows a child injuring himself while alone.
Parents, some seeing the footage for the first time, expressed heartbreak and outrage. “You wouldn’t even do that to a dog,” said one mother, Deborah, whose son was shoved into the room and later developed epilepsy, which she believes was triggered by the trauma.
The school, rated “outstanding” until 2017, shut the rooms after Ofsted flagged their use. However, it wasn’t until 2021 that the existence of 500 hours of CCTV footage came to light. Despite clear evidence, no charges were filed, and six staff members found to have abused pupils were not banned from working with children.
Parents say complaints about injuries and seclusion were ignored. “It’s a cover-up,” Deborah alleged. One child, left severely traumatized, was later hospitalized for self-harm risks.
The investigation also uncovered similar abuses across the UK, including a child locked in a cage for hours in a school in Suffolk. Calls for regulatory reform have grown, with MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith demanding “profound change.”
While the Department for Education says it is reviewing guidelines, affected families insist on urgent and comprehensive support for the victims. “The consequences of this abuse will last a lifetime,” said one parent.
