A father has called for greater regulation of schools that restrain and seclude young people with autism.
He spoke out after a special school paid compensation to his family, who say their son was abused there.
Baston House School, in Kent, made the payment after using a spit hood and a seclusion room to restrain the boy.
Lawyer Kate Whiting, who says using a spit hood and seclusion to restrain a boy with autism breached his human rights
The boy left the school after the family raised concerns.
Difficulties with spitting
The class teacher told the family the school introduced the hood because staff were experiencing difficulties with the boy spitting.
The parents, who cannot be identified, maintain they never witnessed their son spitting at home.
Spit hoods are mesh hoods designed to prevent spitting.
‘Murky world’
The boy’s father wants the case to “shine a light into the murky, somewhat unregulated world” of restraint and seclusion in special schools.
The boy, who started the school aged 10, left in 2015 and now attends a different special school.
Kate Whiting is a solicitor with law firm Leigh Day, who represented the family.
She argued that the spit hood and seclusion breached the boy’s human rights.
Spit hoods ‘must not’ be used to restrain
Whiting says restraints such as spit-hoods “should not, and must not, be used”.
Baston House School was set up by autism campaigner Anna Kennedy. She is now an ambassador for Options, a division of Outcomes First Group (OFG), which currently owns the school.
Kennedy said she is “wholly against” spit hoods and seclusion.
‘Case refers to past events’
A spokesperson for OFG said the case refers to past events and it did not own the school at the time. Also, the organisation said the school leadership team in place at the time has been replaced.
Kennedy was not involved in operational decisions when the incidents occurred, OFG said.
Though it paid compensation, the firm did not admit liability.
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Published: 13 February 2019
