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Watch: CCTV footage of children being abused astatine Whitefield School is shown to parents
The maltreatment of autistic children that took spot astatine the Whitefield School successful north-east London was "horrendous" and "must ne'er hap again", the premier minister's spokesperson has said.
The BBC has obtained footage of children astatine the schoolhouse being shoved into padded rooms, thrown to the level oregon near alone, sitting successful their ain vomit.
Responding to the videos, No 10 said the acquisition section was looking astatine strengthening the guidance connected the usage of seclusion successful specializer schools and would acceptable retired much accusation "as soon arsenic possible".
Currently the government's guidance says schools tin spot disruptive pupils successful seclusion oregon isolation rooms for a constricted period.
It besides says schools should guarantee children are "kept successful seclusion oregon isolation nary longer than is indispensable and that their clip spent determination is utilized arsenic constructively arsenic possible".
A constabulary probe was launched aft unit astatine the Whitefield schoolhouse discovered a container of USB representation sticks containing 500 hours of CCTV taken wrong the padded country betwixt 2014 and 2017.
The probe ended earlier this twelvemonth without immoderate charges.
About 40 children with learning disabilities and terrible intelligence disorders were confined for hours successful the rooms - typically without nutrient oregon drink.
Six families of the children progressive person agreed for the BBC to amusement the footage.
The videos amusement the children successful acute distress and galore are seen injuring themselves.
Safeguarding adept Elizabeth Swan said it was "easily the worst footage" she had seen.
“You look astatine the children and they're being defeated and responding to that attraction with self-injurious behaviour, it's torture,” she added.
The school's section MP Conservative Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the "jaw-dropping" footage should pb to "profound change".
Asked astir the footage, the premier minister's spokesperson said: "The section is looking astatine the guidance successful this abstraction but it is intelligibly a horrendous case.
"We are wide that this cannot and should not person happened and should not hap again."
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