Children punched, locked out naked and doused with vinegar at South Yorkshire care homes

A BBC investigation into Fullerton House and Wheatley House in Denaby, and Wilsic Hall in Wadworth has uncovered a sickening catelogue of abuse against children with severe mental and physical disabilties and which is being probed by police.

All three homes – owned by the Hesley Group – have since closed and bosses have apologised.

But the latest BBC report reveals more than 100 concerns were logged at the Doncaster children's homes, which retained a ‘good’ Ofsted rating. Leaked documents also show Ofsted was alerted 40 times about incidents.

The BBC says that more than 100 children in care, classed as extremely vulnerable are feared to have been harmed, involving many who are non-verbal.

The homes, which include two residential special schools, charged local authorities £250,000 a year to care for each young person. In March 2021 the homes were closed.

Last October, an expert panel said there had been “systemic and sustained abuse” in the homes.

The BBC has obtained leaked Hesley Group documents, including confidential safeguarding reports, and interviews with 15 former staff which reveal that:

- Children were reportedly locked overnight in bathrooms, left in soiled clothes, made to sit in cold baths and deprived of medication for days;

- The mother of a girl - who is autistic and has severe learning difficulties and epilepsy – said her daughter had been dragged across the floor of a home;

- Criminal record checks were not signed off for some staff for up to six months after they started working with vulnerable children;

- South Yorkshire Police - currently investigating some Hesley staff for alleged abuse - was warned by support workers three years before the closures.

A former support worker at one of the homes, Chloe Straw, told the BBC she had found a child rubbing washing up liquid all over his arms - and had asked him why he was doing it.

“He said 'I do this so the night staff can't grab me,'”she recalled. “That's the lengths that child had to go to, to protect himself.”

From the moment she arrived at Fullerton House in 2017, Chloe says she was immediately struck by what she saw as excessive punishments for children.

Abuse would be openly discussed by colleagues - she says - and some would sit in chairs blocking bedroom doors, so children could not leave.

Chloe says she reported her concerns to senior staff on multiple occasions, but says she was told her account was a matter of perception.

“I literally cried, begged and pleaded with this woman to listen to me,” she said.

Another support worker told the BBC they had witnessed a spoon of chilli flakes being fed to a child - and them being denied water.

The incident logs include reports of one child receiving a black eye, while others were punched and kicked in the stomach. One child was reported to have been swung around by their ankles and another locked outside in freezing temperatures while naked.

The documents also describe appalling neglect including a report of a child being locked in a bathroom overnight, two others of children not being given medication for days, and four allegations of others not being fed properly - with at least one child having documented weight loss.

In total, the incident logs obtained by the BBC reveal 104 reports of concern were made at the homes from early 2018 to spring 2021.

Records show some concerns were found to be proven by the company - such as an unexplained injury to a child's eye and a child being hit over the head with a plastic file. But the vast majority were not, and many of those were not shared with authorities, despite Hesley managers having a legal obligation to do so.

The leaked Hesley logs also show that Doncaster Council's safeguarding lead - known as the LADO - was sent 66 warnings about the Hesley homes over the three-year period. Ofsted received 40 separate alerts - but the homes kept their ‘good’ rating.

Chloe Straw says when she approached the police in 2018, she shared the names of children she had heard were being abused - and those of alleged abusive colleagues - but was told there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case.

“It's disgusting,” she says - thinking of the amount of time it took to get the home she worked in closed. “That's a further three years of abuse.”

Another former support worker told the BBC they had also reported alleged abuse to police in 2018, but had been told there were not enough resources to investigate.

The broadcaster said South Yorkshire Police says in both cases there was insufficient evidence to progress with a criminal investigation - but it had referred the allegations to the local authority and had met council staff.

Nicola Oades' daughter, Ruby - who is autistic, has epilepsy and significant learning disabilities - was grabbed by the wrist and dragged into her bedroom at Fullerton House by a member of staff, who was later sacked.

“It's appalling,” says Nicola. “It's hard enough to make that decision to put your child into care - you put all your trust into these people.”

Ruby had only recently been moved to Fullerton from a home run by another care and special education provider, Kisimul. Both Hesley and Kisimul are owned by private equity firm Antin Infrastructure.

A council investigation found that Ruby had previously been harmed by eight members of staff at the Kisimul home. The abuse was so brazen that staff even referred to “tw***ing” her in messages.

Ruby does not like loud noises - but Kisimul staff would sit her in the kitchen and play the radio at high volume as a punishment, or threaten her with it if she was misbehaving. One staff member compared the practice to “something out of Guantanamo Bay”.

“It's soul destroying,” says Nicola. “You'd think when they are getting £250,000 a year, [children] would be getting the Rolls Royce of care.”

Last October, South Yorkshire Police said it was investigating allegations of physical abuse and violence, neglect, emotional abuse, sexual harm, unmet medical needs and misused and maladministered medication at the three homes.

The police probe – dubbed Operation Lemur Alpha – was first launched in March 2021 after allegations of abuse came to light.

Last year, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Phil Etheridge said: “I understand members of the public will be concerned by this investigation and want to assure you that we are doing all we can, as part of the partnership, to address the issues that have been raised.

“Since Operation Lemur Alpha launched we have been working hard to identify whether any children, young people or adults suffered any experiences at these settings which would meet the threshold for criminal investigation.

“These facilities offered care provision for people who have extremely complex needs. We and our partners have been working with a number of specialist agencies to ensure all of these individuals have a voice in our investigation, and that those voices are heard.”

The investigation covers the period from January 2018 to October 2021.

During the course of this period, more than 100 children, young people and adults lived at the homes and more than 700 staff members worked there.

A spokesman said: “This does not mean all of these individuals are victims or suspects; detailed and complex enquiries are being carried out to build up a full picture of what has happened and identify any criminality.”

Last year, Hesley Group bosses issued an apology following the abuse allegations.

Following the launch of the police probe, a Hesley Group spokesman said: “We recognise that the panel has identified serious failings in the running of Fullerton House, Wheatley House and Wilsic Hall ahead of their closure which led to people receiving unacceptable levels of care, and we are deeply sorry for the hurt caused to young people and their families over this period.

“We took swift action at the time to address concerns raised including dismissing several staff, and we made the decision to de-register all homes.

“To ensure the voices of the people who live in our services are heard, as well as their safety and wellbeing, we have since undergone a major restructure and made significant changes across our senior management team.”