Panorama-Undercover schools: Cruelty in the Classroom.

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[@teagarden874]

I am a retired special education teacher. I am sickened by the physical and emotional abuse inflicted on those children. I can only imagine how frightened and hopeless the students felt being mistreated by these ignorant and cruel thugs. Why have they not been arrested?? Where is the protection and oversight for these vulnerable children? How are these untrained and morally corrupt people approved to work with children? Shocking. I'm very glad you exposed this situation.

[@adeptusmagi]

Im surprised this teacher still has his kneecaps TBH

[@reuma7823]

I totally agree, these poor children struggle with their own crap as it is, whether it be their own mental health issues or public bulling for being their own beautiful selves 😢 then they have the worry of being treated cruelly & like they don't matter by wolves in sheep's clothing & getting paid well for it!!!! This just broke my heart 😢😢. I hope these beautiful children are doing well in a better, loving & caring environment that they all deserve ❤💌

[@adeptusmagi]

@@reuma7823 yeh kids generally can be cruel enough with their bullying but to basicalt be show its ok to do by a "teacher" they should have been sent to jail for child abuse they would have soon found out what being bullied is like inside

[@serendipidus8482]

Its insane. Give the parents 50 k a year they could build their own bloody school like educate together.

[@serendipidus8482]

​@@adeptusmagithe teachers look like children to me. How did they get any job thry seem like complete oafs. Tescos wouldnt tolerate that.

[@alisong2328]

A professor of mine said: Whenever you address a student, pretend their parents are standing right behind them. It was great advice!

[@user-ne4oh8lg3k]

Or just imagine they are your children.

[@moo6672]

you shouldn't have to pretend; you should just naturally always speak to them with care and compassion

[@simhthmss]

Or speak to them as if you are addressing an important ambassador from a foreign country who is very smart but just doesn't understand how things work where you live.

[@simhthmss]

"The teachers were suspended" how about arrested? They were assaulting those children repeatedly.

[@babyboyz100]

I had seen an article saying 3(I believe) staff members were taken in for questioning by police. I haven't seen anything further since then.

[@ldcutelady5962]

It REALLY annoys me that they give all of these statements that say they are 'going' to do xyz, but very rarely do. I really wish Panarama would do follow ups......in my opinion these types of programmes are just as accountable for the abuse in the sense that they witness the abuse, 'report' it , get the evidence but that's it......these programmes are very powerful and could do more to help people. It sickens me

[@moo6672]

they should be prosecuted

[@solemnitytribe1769]

They’ve let the bullies run the school 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@loopylou6841]

Check that sports teachers hard drive! , alarm bells are ringing

[@user-oc8dl2dz3t]

yeah i think this is worse/PEDOS

[@serendipidus8482]

Róid rage or something. Should be in prison for multiple accounts of assault I hope the parents have him criminally charged.

[@serendipidus8482]

​@@user-oc8dl2dz3twhy do we have cameras at our atms to protect our money but not in schools to protect both teachers and pupils. Its ridiculous in this day and age of technology.

[@davesmith9844]

How on earth can any adult, let alone professional teachers, justify the way they have behaved to minors. Disgusting. The very people who are meant to be there to provide a safe and respectful learning environment, shocking.

[@adeptusmagi]

doubt theye proffesional teachers probably just got a teaching certificate not a B Ed degree

[@serendipidus8482]

They should be criminally charged all of them. Absolute thugs.

[@serendipidus8482]

​@@adeptusmagii cant even see how they got through second level education! How were they treated at their school? Didpicable.

[@saydvoncripps]

My son is autistic. I can't describe how I feel. Helpless, horror. Just sobbing.

[@serendipidus8482]

I bought a small usb recording device. It records when there is noise so not constantly. It recorded the abysmal teaching my child was getting. They werent criminals like this video but they were dreadful and rude and obnoxious and also not stimulating at all. It is illegal what i did. So I couldnt have done anything with the audio files. I did want to upload them online. The worst part was when a girl ..this is 6 year olds now...came back late from break..she said she was in the loo..the tracher spent about 3 or 4 minutes saying " what were you doing in the toilet jackie? What were you doing in the toilet? Tell me what were you doing? ... the whole class went silent. The kids knew it was wrong. Poor child. The headmaster at one point came in screaming for nobody to run in the corridor. It was just crappy. It wasnt criminal or abuse but it was crap. I homeschooled them for years. My son is now in college and my other son in seconday school where i think i will find that device and hide it in his bag handle ... it is illegal but im very glad I did it. And if nothing had been amiss i would have had peace of mind. Even the normal goings on of school i find pretty abysmal. Just the lack of actual education the teachers spend so much time giving out about a tie being missing etc. They barely get any education it seems. Ive seen private school kids from really posh schools out on a nature walk in the park and they were amazing encouraging the kids answering their questions talking to them like young adults with respect and in literate ways. It blew my mind. We cant all afford respect so the best i could do was homeschool them. I didnt do a great job i didnt have acsess to any resources except one crappy library ...if those parents had 50 thousand pounds for their own child they could have one parent stay home or they could club tovether and form an educate together school. Its sickening. Im not suggesting you do what i did becuase its illegal but if it might put your mind at rest maybe you will find it worth the risk. Just hide it well. And when you find out whats going on you cant use it as evidence or youd be the one in trouble not them. You could also sneak up to the school window where his class is and eaves drop which isn't illegal and say youre just picking him up early maybe. Anyway god bless you.

[@farhanatoerien3437]

This is SICKENING. That head teacher Sarah should be in jail, the principal should be in jail. And I won’t say what I think should happen to those male “teachers” …. 🤬.

[@siobhanjohnson8088]

I was SEN at a nursery. You can do so much permanent damage to a child by belittling them and bullying them. Shameful that those so called teachers were behaving in such a cruel way. Thank you for bringing this to light 🙏

[@lambsthecustard909]

I cannot BELIEVE they said that head teacher didnt see what he did. (Drawing on the students face). Absolutely APPALING.

[@karenspoors771]

Home education is best by far, more needs to be learnt from it!

[@citizenA-Z]

yes, there should be funding for exams past 18, alevels and gcse for homeeducated kids, perhaps put in trustvthat cannot be accessed unless being used for exam fees, or other supprt for homeed studnets

[@user-ne4oh8lg3k]

I hope these people were banned from teaching.

[@Ka-gz3ry]

A spokesperson said: “LIFE Wirral do not condone the behaviour of a small proportion of staff whose actions were aired on last night’s BBC Panorama programme. We are deeply concerned about our students and their families and would like to apologise to all those affected.” The spokesperson added: “The BBC has acted in a highly irresponsible manner putting the interests of a television programme ahead of the interests of vulnerable children. “An undercover investigator failed in her basic safeguarding duties to report significant concerns and had she have done so on day one there would be no television programme and nearly twenty at-risk children would still have a safe environment in which they can learn and develop as young adults. “In correspondence from the BBC they stated they had uncovered ‘significant safeguarding issues’, if they were significant (as a responsible school we absolutely agree they were), why did they not report them and put a stop to it there and then? They chose not to because they had other priorities and the children’s welfare was not their primary concern. As a team of highly respected education specialists we see no justification whatsoever allowing such incidents to continue; the safeguarding of the children should have come first rather than a television show. It cannot be stressed enough, had these incidents been reported immediately the members of staff would have been instantly suspended; something the reporter knew too well. “Indeed, shocking evidence has also revealed that not only did the investigator ignore clear advice to report safeguarding issues she went one step further and falsified official reports in order to claim that situations were handled well on the school’s safeguarding system which would deceive the safeguarding lead and ultimately allow the television programme to proceed. “Life School was a very successful Ofted rated place of learning, shortlisted by the Times Educational Supplement as Inclusive School of the Year 2023 but regardless of how respected the school was it does not condone the behaviour revealed by the programme, and five members of staff have been suspended and we can now come to a quick conclusion based on the evidence we now have. How about the school headteacher and other staff flaging safeguarding situations that have happened god knows how many times before this woman filmed anything, they didnt do that.

[@Taylor23890]

😮 My son is autistic, has moderate learning difficulties and other bits and pieces. I’ve trained in dealing with children with SEN and have worked in both special schools and mainstream. I love these kids, most of these members of staff can’t be no older than 14 ? Can’t believe they don’t even know a basic difficulty many on the spectrum have , and that is being able to recall what’s happened 30 seconds after an incident. They need time to process the information . And always give praise where praise is due , even the smallest things a student giving another student the ruler to use , just the little that’s was very kind of you sharing the ruler . I’m very proud of you well done. I’m so sad watching this

[@bartboesten]

I am Bart almost 50 this year. I am autistic. The program I was in a litlle boy only four still hunts me. Mam, a good friend of mine is in custity. When I heard that the memories of a threatmant like this came back. I cried during this documentary. This happens in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 as well mam. Thank you for your good comment on autism spectrum. May the Holy Spirit help you help us.

[@JaneA544]

Why hasnt it been closed permanently? Why the delay? This is child abuse of the most egregious type

[@lambsthecustard909]

I went to some schools like this and you either put up with it untill you can get out or you just dont turn up and end up with no education falling through the net. This video is MANY schools in london. Not just this one in Wirral.

[@user-oc8dl2dz3t]

[@simhthmss]

Yeah if it's not the teachers who are the bullies (which has happened to me) it is other students making the lives of anyone a bit different a total misery. I went to a normal government school and that environment was not much better except it was other sometimes much older and bigger students doing this kind of thing. The only valid method of education I can see these days is homeschooling and parents creating social clubs for other home school families so the children can socialise. School isn't real socialisation anyway. It is a prison type environment where you can get beaten at any time without warning. You would get much better socialisation homeschooling and then going to a club on the side imo.

[@joshuapearce2721]

Growing up with ADHD, this is pretty standard behaviour towards neurodiverse children, especially by PE staff. No wonder most of us go on to develop CPTSD and substance abuse issues in our adulthoods

[@chloebywater174]

I used to dread P.E lessons so much it P.E teaching really seems to attract bullies. The system really fails people with disabilities and mental health conditions.

[@WillowB-dn6if]

A piece of paper saying you passed an exam (in the relevant qualification) does not mean you are qualified to even be near these children let alone teach them. This is disgusting, they all should be prosecuted. Children with additional needs and disabilities can and are challenging, hence you need people with empathy, care, tolerance and understanding of their needs, as well as the appropriate qualifications. None of the people in this video had any of these attributes.

[@ReclaimOurFreedom]

My old school was sort of like this as well not mentioning any names

[@ReclaimOurFreedom]

I suspect they may have been under the same limited company owned by the same person

[@jupo9928]

£50,000 a student from government funding. It would be more cost effective to pay for a teacher at £50000 per 4 kids and to learn in the home

[@jupo9928]

And I don't mean zoom school

[@dominewimbury2039]

Disgusting!

[@athenarose9084]

The same abuse happens in mainstream schools, there is no accountability because the staff close ranks (including those in higher positions in the local authority) and protect themselves rather than the children. There's misconceptions that all SEND children are all of low intelligence which is incorrect and discrimatory and leads to children not receiving the correct support. We need to look at other countries like Sweden where there is a much more rigorous selection process and training for teachers. This is just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to the SEND scandal in this country.

[@mariekatherine5238]

And parents are paying for this place? It’s disgusting, just so far from acceptable. That head teacher of sports, some day he’s going to rag on the wrong pupil. He’s going to get hurt, but he knows he can just blame the pupils and get away with it.

[@Currentchaosnews]

Thanks for sharing. My son 11 with autism and would have hated it if found this happened to him.

[@Susan-on3gc]

This is why I didn’t trust school with my autistic son, the head teacher at my son’s primary school was worried how he would do at secondary school, he had a occupational report for them to follow which they ignored, I pulled my son out and home educated him, which is more common in rural Scotland, there was no way I was putting my son through 5 years stress and worry in a school that didn’t really want to help him, that he was just to much trouble for them. 2 weeks in school was enough to start to make him so anxious. I never regretted it. My sons 30 now and nothing changed, we hear loads about what teachers need about how hard their work is, but if they don’t get respect from their pupils it’s because their not good teachers and so they don’t generate respect.

[@citizenA-Z]

The broadcaster says it carried out the undercover investigation after whistleblowers told Panorama “abuse was still happening there 12 months after the council was warned of problems”. A police investigation is underway and the school has now been closed thank god.

[@MOJORAPSCALLION]

Horrific. What are we doing to our most precious the vulnerable young people & children. My heart breaks as a person with autism myself.

[@honeydate]

This is SO sad...yet headteachers are getting rid of experienced, inclusive, kind staff to employ young graduates to save money. DISGRACE! What is the govt doing about this!!

[@mariekatherine5238]

If another teacher blows the whistle on abusive, incompetent, or bully teachers, you’re the one who gets sacked.

[@Caden-fe6lm]

A family member worked with schools of kids with special needs. She used to continuously come across special schools that were much worse for things like targets (most had no targets for kids and if they did they weren't recorded effectively or worked towards) than mainstream schools. Scary as it's just as important for special needs kids to learn skills that will help them in life. The education seems kind of token like they don't expect they can learn which they totally can. They just need more support to do so. Controversy most (admittedly not all) mainstream schools actually did better meeting their special needs kids needs and helping them progress both with educational and personal/ independent skills.

[@citizenA-Z]

this is disgusting and scary, may the goverment continue to and perhaps provide extra assistance in homeschooling. so scary, as you never know what goes on behind closed doors

[@mol588]

I couldn't watch all of this, it's too distressing . As a retired nursery nurse and grandmother of a child who is medicated for Adhd, i shudder imagining him being bullied and manhandled like the poor kids in this video . It's not a safe, educational place, more like a gang-hut, with older lads teasing / abusing younger boys . Let's hope there are consequences for this utterly appalling treatment of young vulnerable pupils .

[@Rebeccasweet100]

I don't really understand but don't people have training?

[@ReclaimOurFreedom]

No requirement for teachers in schools to be trained in special educational need

[@traceybanting3952]

@@ReclaimOurFreedom, not entirely accurate. Many Special Needs Teachers have additional qualifications, which vary depending on their specialism. In my own case I have a Post Grad Cert of Dyslexia qualification. I wasn’t eligible to take this qualification without a minimum of five year’s teaching experience. There’s no doubt though, that teaching assistants are sometimes used instead of specialist teachers. They are much cheaper, don’t have the same holiday entitlement, are often ripe for exploitation due to unfulfilled ambitions and are not subject to the same working hours as teachers. It’s largely about budget cuts and the need to run schools on a shoestring.

[@ReclaimOurFreedom]

@@traceybanting3952 there are some schools that appear to use teaching assistants instead of specialist teachers even to the extent of having teacher assistant teaching classes because they had no teachers

[@traceybanting3952]

@@ReclaimOurFreedom yes, absolutely. In the U.K they are called ‘cover supervisors’. We also have Teaching Assistants, who thirty years ago did the photocopying, now plan and even deliver lessons and schemes of work. It’s absolutely shocking!

[@Gogetemscoobie]

I was a psych nurse on secure units and we didnt treat violent adults.

[@tashaclaire7258]

He actually says he fantasised about holding that boy underwater to eliminate his life whilst the kid scratched him whilst trying to breathe... wtaf???

[@serendipidus8482]

These treachers are absolute thugs. Why didnt they get an education? How do they have teaching degrees? How did they even get through school themslves and is this how they were treated by their own teachers.

[@serendipidus8482]

Why is a child who seems to be a compltete tracksuite working in such a job?

[@jadeshaw3621]

Ho lee shit 😮😮😮😮😮

[@tashaclaire7258]

Close it down!!

[@serendipidus8482]

Jesus give the parents 50 thousand pounda a year per pupil!

[@carolinehoward180]

WTAF 😡