'My son was given wrong medication dose at school'

Tadhg,17, is non-verbal and has Tourette's syndrome

A mother has said her non-verbal autistic son was given incorrect doses of medication and absconded multiple times from a residential special school in Kent.

Leanne Manser told BBC South East she is concerned for other children in residential care at Bradstow School in Broadstairs.

Wandsworth Council, which maintains the school said it was "determined to deliver improvements" for its children and their parents.

Kent County Council (KCC) has written to parents to tell them it had "ongoing concerns" that "avoidable mistakes" had been made in the home.

Bradstow is a school and children's home funded by Wandsworth Borough Council for young people aged between five and 19 with severe disabilities who are on the autistic spectrum.

A June 2023 Ofsted report rated the school as outstanding but an inspection on the residential care in October the same year found it required improvement.

Tadhg, 17, was a student at the school for six years but left in March after being served notice because Bradstow said it could not support his care needs, his mother said.

Ms Manser said Tadhg, who also has Tourette's Syndrome, was "happy and thriving" when he first started at Bradstow.

However, in his final 18 months at the school she said there was a "downward spiral".

On one visit, she said he was "soaked in his own urine" and had nappy rash.

Leanne Manser says her son has very complex needs

The school has not responded to specific allegations from the family.

However, the BBC has seen emails from the school to Ms Manser admitting to giving Tadhg the wrong dose of medication three times.

On one occasion, she said the school phoned her to say it was calling 111 because there were not enough staff to take him to hospital.

"It was awful," she said. "I was googling what the side effects of an overdose of that particular drug could be."

Tadhg did not require medical treatment following this incident.

Absconding multiple times

The BBC has seen a letter from the school to Ms Manser informing her that Tadhg had absconded twice in one day, which she said made her "terrified".

On one occasion Tadhg managed to get to the beach, she said.

"He has no road awareness and he can't swim."

Ms Manser said she noticed a large turnover of staff in her son's final months at the residential school.

On a visit on Tadhg's 17th birthday in February, she photographed a staff member who was asleep while working, which she said was "horrifying".

Tadhg is autistic and non-verbal with severe needs

'Significant concerns'

Restrictions were put on Bradstow in October 2023 following an Ofsted inspection that banned any new children from being admitted into the residential home.

The inspection found "significant concerns" regarding lack of management oversight in behaviour management and the use of physical interventions.

A letter from KCC to parents of children at the school outlined a number of other alleged ongoing safeguarding issues, including some children "requiring hospital treatment" due to "unexplained accidents and injuries".

Children were also found to be leaving the premises undetected and there were "ongoing concerns regarding medication management", the letter said.

There had been an increased use of agency staff who were not familiar with the children's needs and insufficient numbers of staff, it added.

Bradstow School in Broadstairs is for children with autism with severely complex needs

In the last inspection in December the school required improvement but the ban on admitting new children was lifted.

Ofsted said it did not comment on individual providers or inspections.

KCC said it had been working with partners to support improvements to the school.

A spokesperson said: “While KCC is not seeking to immediately move children, we have a legal duty to work with parents to make parallel plans should we need to consider the sustainability of children's placements.

“Our priority remains to ensure all children can access education in safe and secure environments.”

Wandsworth Council said: "The safeguarding and wellbeing of children and young people is our top priority."

It added: “We acknowledge that the provision at Bradstow needs sustained improvement” and said it was working with staff, partner agencies and regulators to make sustained improvements.