Leigh Day represents families in civil claims over use of 'inhumane' isolation rooms at London's Whitefield School

Leigh Day began investigating allegations from children and families in September 2023. 

 

On 8 July 2026, a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review was published by Waltham Forest Safeguarding Partners about the use of restrictive practices at Whitefield School, a specialist school for pupils with SEND. 

 

The review examined the seclusion of children and young people in locked and padded isolation rooms. It found that children’s dignity, safety and wellbeing were compromised and that the use of seclusion was “not therapeutic or supportive, but punitive”. The report says parents were clear in their descriptions of the practices as being “inhumane” and “unimaginable”.

 

An Ofsted inspection in January 2017 identified that secure rooms were in use at the school. Whitefield was rated “Inadequate” after leaders and governors were unable to demonstrate that the use of the rooms was appropriate, effective or proportionate. 

 

CCTV footage was discovered in May 2021 by new leadership at the school. A three-year criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Operation Hopgrove, followed, but families were told that no criminal charges were being brought. 

 

The review said that, in several incidents seen on CCTV, children showed signs of distress, including self-harm, vomiting, adopting the foetal position, smearing bodily fluids or heightened dysregulation, while staff stood by and recorded them. 

 

The review said the rooms were used to manage children’s dysregulated behaviour, rather than staff responding to that behaviour as a sign of distress, anxiety or unmet needs. One parent told reviewers that “it was similar to a hostage and torture situation”. 

 

The review said families were not given transparent descriptions of the rooms or their use. It found that this “distort[ed] parent / carer perceptions”. 

 

The review made a national recommendation that the Department for Education publish further clarification on the accountability and oversight responsibilities of local authorities, regulators and independent schools, to help ensure stronger safeguarding oversight and timely intervention where harmful or poor practice is known or suspected. 

 

Flourish Learning Trust and the London Borough of Waltham Forest have been formally notified of potential legal claims being brought against them. 

 

In response to the July 2026 review, the Waltham Forest Safeguarding Children Partnership said it was committed to acting on the review’s recommendations and ensuring that the learning leads to meaningful and lasting improvement. 

 

The families’ legal team continue to correspond with the Trust and the Council about liability for these claims. 

 

Alison Millar, partner at Leigh Day who is leading the civil case, said:  

 

“The children and families we represent have endured the consequences of a regime of isolation at Whitefield School that should never have been allowed to happen. What was done to these children was profoundly harmful, and its impact continues to be felt by families every day. 

 

“The review confirms that there was no justification for the restrictive practices in operation at Whitefield School between 2014 and 2017.  It also highlights that many of the children could not understand why they were being put in these rooms or what they could do to get out of them; for children with autism, learning disabilities and communication difficulties, the experience would often have been incomprehensible, as well as frightening. The use of the so-called calming rooms against children with multiple vulnerabilities was, in our clients’ view, nothing short of torture. 

 

“Leigh Day is now representing 10 clients in civil claims against Flourish Learning Trust and the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The claims include allegations that the use of the rooms was inconsistent with the school’s duty of care, amounted to false imprisonment and breached our clients’ human rights. The use of forcible isolation in a locked room against a child is in our clients' view, barbaric, and we believe wholly inconsistent with the school’s duty of care towards our clients and represented a serious breach of their human rights.  

 

"Our clients are seeking accountability and redress for the harm these practices caused.” 

 

Jacqui Shurlock, Chief Executive Officer of The Challenging Behaviour Foundation said: 

  

"It is shocking that this review only happened due to the bravery of the families of the children and young people in speaking out to BBC Panorama. The system failed to detect or act on systemic safeguarding failures. To date, no one has been held accountable for gross safeguarding failures against multiple vulnerable children and young people. 

  

"Young people with a severe learning disability, many of whom are unable to express their needs verbally, have a right to protection, safety and dignity at school. Although this review focuses on events that happened some time ago, the current national picture is that seclusion is still permitted in schools in England. 

  

"The use of seclusion is an outdated and harmful way of responding to behaviours that challenge shown by disabled children. The Department for Education should reflect on this review and take action to ban the use of seclusion in schools in favour of evidence-based approaches and strengthen safeguarding and oversight responses to the misuse of restrictive practices. Failing to act will lead to further avoidable harm to disabled children and their families.” 

 

Support information 

 

If you are affected by this issue and would like support, you can contact the following organisations: 

 

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation (for people with severe or multiple and profound learning disabilities and their families and carers) 

 

Email: support@thecbf.org.uk 

Telephone: 0300 666 0126 

 

Mencap (for people with a learning disability and their families and carers) 

helpline@mencap.org.uk / 0808 808 1111 

  

National Autistic Society (web based support only) 

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