Education bosses have admitted that lessons need to be learned following a review into a school at the centre of an investigation over its handling of special needs pupils.
Sharon Gardner complained earlier this year after her eight-year-old autistic son, Fraser, was carried “kicking and screaming” from a classroom at Strathburn School, Inverurie, and locked in a “quiet” room on his own.
School accused of locking autistic boy in ‘quiet room’ to be reviewed by external consultants
She raised her concerns with Aberdeenshire Council but, dissatisified with their response, contacted the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), which launched an investigation in April.
Mrs Gardner has now withdrawn her son from Strathburn and he is currently being schooled at their Huntly home.
The authority subsequently commissioned an independent review, carried out by NHS Grampian, which found issues with the school’s communication with Mrs Gardner, following incidents involving her son.
It also called for a second review, which begins today, with external consultants appointed to look at how staff deal with children with additional support needs (ASN) if they become upset or angry.
It will also form part of a wider review into procedures and policy across the region.
The consultants are experts in Calm (Crisis, Aggression, Limitation and Management) training, which is the Scottish Government’s national guideline for dealing with youngsters with ASN.
Vincent Docherty, head of secondary education and additional support, said: “The teachers who would carry out behaviour management strategies did so because they were Calms trained.
“They had a really good knowledge of the boy and his parents.
“This isn’t about hiding – in the correspondence that’s happened here, which has been extensive, we have already apologised.
“This is about openness and transparent, it’s a kid that’s at the heart of this, not a fight between a parent and us defending something as a local authority.
“I’m not defending anything, I’m stating facts here. We’re going to move forward and learn from it.”
Fraser told his mother that he was locked in a “quiet room” at the school with no toilet, and left kicking and screaming.
She also said there had been a number of occasions when she had collected Fraser from the room and he had wet himself.
Mrs Gardner previously said she was supportive of any review if it was transparent.
