Damning report reveals string of failures which left children at risk at special school near Mansfield

The Harlow Academy, Nottingham Road, Harlow Wood, was temporarily closed following a damning report by education watchdog Ofsted, following an inspection in January 2022, which concluded “pupils were not being kept safe and were at risk of immediate and imminent harm”.

Given the “seriousness of the issues raised” a review was launched, as “there would likely be learning for all partnership agencies”.

Ofsted inspectors visited the school – then run by the now-defunct Evolve Trust – after parents of pupils, all with special educational needs, raised a raft of issues.

The Ofsted report was damning, with the school found to be “inadequate” on quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, early years provision and sixth-form provision.

It led to the school closing for a week and teams from two other educational trusts being brought in to oversee the running of the school when it reopened.

It was later praised for the improvements it had made when it was inspected again by Ofsted last summer.

Lessons to be learnt

The Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership has now published its report, in order to “better understand what went wrong” and outline lessons that can be learned to help protect children in the future.

The review states: “In the autumn term 2021, there were a series of serious incidents of concern, almost all reported by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust staff at the school. These included inappropriate use of restraint, failure to provide equipment required to support children's mobility, poor management of behaviour and inappropriate exclusions.”

Following the incidents, the report notes, there were discussions between NHNT and Nottinghamshire Council. The NHFT also wrote to Ofsted sharing the incidents and there were discussions between the council, Ofsted and the Regional Schools Commissioner, including whether Ofsted should inspect the academy.

“These discussions did not lead to action,” the report states. “There was a sense other agencies were waiting for Ofsted to inspect and did not initiate their own action.”

It found “the decline of standards of care and education… were a consequence of a lengthy sequence of events”, with a number of missed opportunities to make a difference, including: appointment of a capable permanent headteacher; a more careful selection of an academy sponsor; Ofsted inspecting in October 2021; and Nottinghamshire Council and NHNT putting in place a formal process to deal with and address the many incidents and concerns raised.

Painful and distressing

The review said: “Parents and carers have found what occurred painful and distressing. They have said they felt guilty because they sent their children to school knowing it might not be safe. They feel their children have regressed in some cases or not made the progress they should have in others.”

It added parents and carers recognised how much better the school is now, since it was relaunched as Fountaindale School, part of the Nexus Multi-Academy Trust.

A string of recommendations have now been put forward to the different agencies, including all NSCP staff knowing how to raise concerns about the quality of children’s care.

Accept the findings

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, Nottinghamshire Strategic Leadership Group chairman, said: “This review was requested by us, the NSCP, so we could fully understand what happened and how, as a partnership, we could learn from that to ensure children with complex needs are better protected in the future.

“We fully accept the findings of this review. It is clear there are lessons to be learnt, both by local partners and at a national policy level.

“All of those who are involved in commissioning of services or providing care for young people with complex needs has a duty to provide good standards of care and keep children as safe as they can be. We would like to reassure families that the partnership is committed to making sure that children are kept safe.

“We will work together to ensure that all of the recommendations for the individual Nottinghamshire agencies and the partnership are swiftly actioned.”

Laurence Jones, children and families service director at Nottinghamshire County Council, added: “We are committed to understanding what can be learnt from the findings and to taking action wherever necessary for the safeguarding of children with complex needs.

“The local authority also commissioned an independent review into its practice and, as a result, has made changes to the way our different teams and services share information about concerns in organisations so that we have better intelligence on which to make decisions.

“We will now take on board this further learning as part of our commitment to improving safeguarding and will work closely with Nottinghamshire partners to implement the relevant recommendations.”

To read the full report, see shorturl.at/aerLO