Heart of the Forest: Councillors hear SEND school concerns

The allegations have been made about Heart of the Forest school in Coleford

Concerns raised by ex-staff and parents of children at a Special Education Needs (SEND) school have been presented directly to councillors.

An investigation into the Heart of the Forest school in Coleford was called for in an open letter to Gloucestershire County Council in July.

Allegations include a "toxic culture of bullying and intimidation" and "serious safety concerns" for pupils.

The school said safeguarding students was its "top priority".

Miles Johansen, chair of governors at The Heart of the Forest Community Special School, said: "All concerns raised with the school are looked into, in line with our safeguarding policy."

At a county council meeting earlier, councillors took questions from former staff at the school, covering alleged bullying and safeguarding concerns.

Responding on behalf of the authority, Councillor Philip Robinson said there was very little the council could do legally regarding the issues raised at the meeting.

All staffing enquiries, of any nature, are not something the county council can get involved with, he added.

The council has previously said it is taking the allegations seriously, and is working with the school to investigate them, and has also met with parents to hear their concerns.

GMB Union representative Katja Laug was one of the people who spoke at the meeting, and said she was "disappointed" by the council response.

'88 staff members gone'

The meeting followed the writing of a letter, signed by parents, a former governor and ex-members of staff, alleging that safety at the school - which educates around 100 children from the age of two to 19 - started to be compromised in 2018, "when head teacher Stephanie Withington took over."

A second letter was also signed and sent to all councillors in August, claiming more than 88 staff members had left the school since September 2018.

Hannah, who is using a false name to protect her identity, worked at the school for 19 years and said staff would regularly be shouted at by senior leadership in front of pupils and parents.

'Safeguarding concerns'

She said she raised safeguarding concerns in relation to a pupil who exhibited sexual behaviour towards peers and staff to senior leadership and governors but nothing was done and she was told she was wrong and had just "perceived it."

She said she eventually received a disciplinary for taking the wrong papers to a meeting.

Hannah says she was eventually signed off work with stress for a year and handed in her notice in 2020 after experiencing "an atmosphere of intimidation, a distinct lack of trust and support for staff".

Councillors discussed the meeting at Shire Hall on Wednesday

Hannah said her experience at the school, which was rated 'good' by Ofsted in its last full inspection in May, has made it hard to trust people but leaving was "a big relief" off her shoulders.

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: "We have met with parents to hear their concerns and have responded to all contact from parents within our duties as the local authority."

Angela Cresswell, who worked at the school for 15 years as a teaching assistant, said the school was once "a very pleasant place to work".

'Felt more like a prison'

"The environment was very efficient, friendly, the staff all worked together," she said.

"I always felt working with the children was a vocation rather than a job."

However, she claimed things "changed drastically" after the new headteacher was appointed.

"It went from an open-door policy, where parents would come in and chat to us, to a closed-door policy.

'Pity Parties'

"Where the children did have freedom to go around the school, the doors all had locks on. It felt more like a prison."

Ms Cresswell, who said she highlighted her concerns to Gloucestershire County Council, claims that incident reports were filled in but never actioned and nothing was done regarding safeguarding issues.

She said things came to a head after a staff meeting where the headteacher allegedly described seeing staff crying in corridors as "pity parties" and "people feeling sorry for themselves".

Ex-staff allege bullying and intimidation at the Heart of the Forest school in Coleford

"She said if you don't like it, leave. No-one gets medals for staying," Ms Cresswell said.

Ms Cresswell claims that at the end of the meeting, she called out the headteacher for bullying and was suspended the following day on full pay while they investigated her conduct in the meeting.

Ms Cresswell said she "never heard anything back after that" and eventually resigned from her role in August 2020.

"What once was a beautiful school has gone to the ground in three years," she added.

'Complete drop in communication'

The letter also raised concerns by parents, who accuse the school of becoming increasingly closed off to them after the new senior leadership team was put in place.

Samuel, whose daughter attended the school, also made allegations about the quality of safeguarding.

He said parents were told not to communicate with each other in the playground.

Samuel said his daughter, who is non-verbal, soon started self-harming through anxiety and frustration.

"She started biting her arms and there were bruises on her forehead. The school said she had been headbutting walls.

"We never saw any incident reports and we were never told any reasons."

'Choking incident'

He said things started to escalate and in June 2022 he received a phone call from the school telling him that his daughter had choked and paramedics were in attendance.

Samuel claims when he asked staff what had happened, they gave differing versions.

"One staff member said she was choking on a hair bobble, another said she was sick, one other said she was choking on food and another member said she wasn't sick at all."

Samuel eventually took his daughter out of the school in December 2022 after an "unexplained incident" and said she became withdrawn and "terrified to go to school".

'We welcome feedback'

Chair of Governors, Mr Johansen said: "Many of our young people have complex needs and we work hard to provide a safe and enriching learning environment, and where incidents do occur, our teaching staff follow well established procedures."

"We welcome feedback from parents and would urge them to raise any concerns with us," he added.

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: "We have received the letter and we always take complaints seriously and investigate each one in line with our duties.

"We have worked with The Heart of the Forest Community Special School, where appropriate, to investigate the concerns raised as they have arisen.

"The recent Ofsted report in May 2023 saw the school retain its 'Good' and found that safeguarding was effective. We continue to work with the school on areas identified for improvement by Ofsted."

The allegations and concerns will be discussed during a full council meeting at Shire Hall later.