Whistleblowers claim children with autism 'abused' at Cardiff home

Orbis Education and Care Ltd said they took allegations very seriously

Children with needs associated with autism were "abused" and mistreated at a children's home in Cardiff, four former employees have claimed.

They said children at Ty Coryton were restrained and locked up unnecessarily.

The whistleblowers also claimed one teenager was locked in her flat regularly because she was menstruating.

Orbis Education and Care Ltd, who run the home, said they had investigated any incidents that were reported and they took allegations very seriously.

Kristy Edwards worked at Ty Coryton - a residential home and specialist school for children with needs associated with autism - between November 2019 and September 2020.

She said that on one occasion she thought a child "was going to die" while being restrained on the floor for almost 20 minutes.

Ms Edwards claimed the restraint was "completely mismanaged" and that she was running back and forth with water and cold compresses to cool him down as she was so worried for his health.

She also alleged she witnessed a staff member swearing and verbally abusing a child, saying they "stank of shit".

Ms Edwards said children were punished for engaging in autistic behaviour and the health and safety of staff and children was "absolutely shocking".

"I've been injured a few times," said Ms Edwards.

Kristy Edwards said the environment of the home was "high risk" for both the staff and children

Ms Edwards claimed young people were "mismanaged" so behaved in challenging ways which led to them being locked away.

She alleged that the state of accommodation was poor and described the state of one young person's flat as a "crack den".

She added this child was locked away and was only allowed out in the car.

"This person really runs the risk of, as soon as they turn 18, their future in supported living is gone," said Ms Edwards.

"This person will likely become institutionalised, his support staff are already saying he needs to be sedated but he doesn't.

"He just needs correct therapeutic behavioural strategies and for somebody to work with him instead of working against him."

Ms Edwards claimed that one teenager's isolation was "severe".

"She was isolated anytime she was menstruating," she said. "They didn't teach her how to use sanitary items."

Ms Edwards claimed people had to use incontinence pads longer than necessary because there was no toileting progression for children.

She also said there was a lack of pads and wipes, and on one occasion there were none available so a resident had to stand naked while another member of staff went and bought some more.

Four former employees said there were regularly not enough pads and wipes.

Ms Edwards said she raised concerns to the person responsible for buying them and was told they were going to start limiting the amount of pads they were allowed to take.

One of the whistleblowers said they had to "battle for resources".

She described the environment of the home as "high risk" for both staff and the children living there.

One of the other whistleblowers said that on one occasion a 10-year-old boy was found running around the car park naked and when he was taken back to his flat, no-one had realised he had absconded.

The allegations against Ty Coryton:

• One staff member had a conversation with a colleague and described receiving oral sex in detail. The conversation was in front of a 17-year-old boy

• One staff member told night staff "not to feed" a 10-year-old because he had eaten two packets of crisps instead of his lunch

• One young person had soiled himself and a member of staff put him in the bath without cleaning him first so he bathed in his own faeces

• Not enough staffing

• Inappropriate allocation of rooms - younger children sharing flats with older children and young adults

• Keeping information about children from their parents

• Unspent pocket money going back to Orbis rather than allowing children to save money

• A broken front door which meant children could abscond easily

• Unqualified staff covering lessons in the school - described as a "glorified baby-sitting service" by one member of staff

Ms Edwards, who now works for a different company and is studying for a masters degree in behaviour analysis and therapy, said every incident she saw was "a direct result of staff involvement or being ignored by staff".

She said she raised concerns from the first week she worked for Orbis with at least three managers.

Prof Edwin Jones, from the British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD), said the allegations were shocking.

"The use of frequent restraint, taking people to the floor, is extremely dangerous," he said.

He said children with learning disabilities learn to behave in challenging ways if they are not in a therapeutic environment, not because they are "naughty".

"We need to improve their quality of life and give them other ways to have their needs met - that's called positive behavioural support."

Prof Edwin Jones said the alleged problems could also be happening elsewhere

Prof Jones said he believed it was likely the type of problems alleged at Ty Coryton could be happening elsewhere.

"I think this is a systematic problem in Wales, and a few things need to happen," he said.

"The most important thing that needs to happen now very, very quickly, is that Welsh government move forward and implement the Welsh reducing restrictive practice framework.

"It won't address everything but it will address an awful lot."

Care Inspectorate Wales has been informed of the allegations and the Children's Commissioner for Wales has made a child protection referral after BBC Wales' investigation.

A spokesperson for Orbis Education and Care Ltd said: "We take any allegation against our staff or our services extremely seriously and where an alleged incident has previously been reported to us, we have thoroughly investigated.

"During the period since these alleged incidents took place, Ty Coryton had 21 inspections or visits (up until 17 May) by independent organisations and authorities who found no faults relating to any of the allegations, with the exception of staff shortages at certain points during the pandemic.

"We have received a draft Care Inspectorate Wales report on Ty Coryton which will be published in the coming weeks, which is complimentary of our staff and our service.

"Orbis Education and Care has a comprehensive range of established governance policies and procedures, supported by a well-resourced quality team, to work with home managers in the delivery of a safe and high-quality service.

"We are proud of the level of education and support we offer at Ty Coryton and our amazing staff who care for the children and young people we look after.

"Creating a warm, stimulating home for our children is what we strive to do every day at Orbis; this is the reason why the vast majority of colleagues choose to work with our unique young people, taking great pleasure and professional pride in the steps forward that we support them to take."

A spokesperson for the Welsh government said: "There is absolutely no place for the inappropriate treatment of children in any setting anywhere in Wales.

"We are aware that Cardiff Council's Children's Services are working to respond to the concerns raised by this case.

"We will publish a framework to reduce restrictive practices to cover childcare, education, health and social care next month and will work with organisations across Wales to take an approach that actively promotes human rights and person centred support."

This article is the subject of a legal complaint from Orbis who dispute the accuracy of the allegations and say that this article is defamatory and false.