A member of staff was supposed to be looking after her
The child was unable to reach the door handle of the room (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
The parent of a six-year-old child with additional needs and a heart condition found her alone in a “locked” room when he went to collect her from a Leicester school club. Curtis Harris was picking daughter Precious up from an Easter club at Stokes Wood Primary School, in New Parks, when he made the discovery.
Mr Harris, who lives near the school, said that when he arrived he could “hear screaming” and instantly knew it was his daughter, who was supposed to be supervised by staff at all times because of her fragile health. He said he went inside and could see his daughter in a room by herself, “laying on the floor crying, screaming and in distress”. The door was closed and effectively locked, he claimed, because it had “really high handles at the top that only an adult could reach”, so his daughter could not get out.
The 38-year-old dad said he opened the door and got Precious out, and asked the school why his daughter was ‘locked’ in a room by herself. Mr Harris said the school’s response – confirmed in a letter sent to him by the school and seen by LeicestershireLive – was that the member of staff looking after her had gone to answer a phone call at reception.
LeicestershireLive asked the school’s headteacher, Liz Christensen, a series of questions about the matter. In response, she said she could not comment on individual cases, but “be assured all complaints received by the school are fully investigated with the support of the local authority”.
A Leicester City Council spokesperson told LeicestershireLive that the authority was aware of the incident, and that its local authority designated officer (LADO) had looked into an incident. However, the LADO found that the issue did not meet the statutory threshold for a safeguarding inquiry.
Recollecting the day in question, Mr Harris said: “I went to collect her from school and I could hear screaming, and I was like, ‘What the hell is that’? And I knew it was my daughter. I thought, ‘That’s my daughter crying’.
“I walked into the school, and I’ve looked, and there’s my daughter in a room on her own, crying on the floor, screaming, and three teachers are standing there, and I’m saying, ‘What the hell are you doing? Why is she in there?’.
“And the excuse was, ‘Oh, we have to answer the phone’. And I said, ‘But you still don’t lock my daughter in the room like she can’t get out. She’s got a heart condition. She suffers from seizures. She’s got ADHD. She’s six years old, You can’t be doing that to her’.”
The incident happened at Stokes Wood Primary School in New Parks(Image: Google)
Following the incident, Mrs Christensen sent Mr Harris a letter, which has been seen by LeicestershireLive. In it, she offered her “sincere apologies” for the incident in which “Precious was found by yourself, unattended in the calming room.” She added: “This should not have happened, and we fully recognise the seriousness of this incident.”
The letter stated that “regrettably”, the member of staff who was responsible for supervising Precious “chose to leave the room to answer the telephone for a few moments”. While there were other staff members nearby, “they did not step in to maintain supervision”. Mrs Christensen said that that was something which “should have happened”.
She said in the letter: “I want to be clear that we acknowledge that this was a failure in our duty of care, and we are sorry for the distress this has understandably caused.” The head said that the staff member involved “recognises their error in judgement”.
Mrs Christensen said she wanted to “reassure” Mr Harris that “there was no intention to place Precious at risk of harm”. But she added that “we accept that the situation was unacceptable and fell far short of the standard of care we strive to uphold”.
The head said that as a result of the incident involving Precious, “we have reviewed our procedures for future holiday clubs”, and that “moving forward”, either she or another named member of staff would be “on-site at all times during the summer holiday club”.
She added that Precious’s supervision ratio would be increased to ensure that she always had two members of staff with her. “These will not be the same staff members who were involved during the Easter club,” said the head.
LeicestershireLive asked Mrs Christensen numerous specific questions, including what, if any, learning had taken place and procedural changes implemented since it happened, and what disciplinary action, if any, had the school carried out in relation to the staff member who left Precious alone in the room.
In response, she said: “I am sure you can appreciate as a school we cannot comment on individual cases to protect the confidentiality of all those involved, but be assured all complaints received by the school are fully investigated with the support of the local authority; as a school, we have robust and established safeguarding procedures and work closely with relevant authorities whenever necessary.
“In our most recent Ofsted review, safeguarding was found to be effective. We remain committed to maintaining the highest safeguarding standards.”
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: “We are aware that a complaint was raised with Ofsted in April. Our local authority designated officer looked into an incident, but it did not meet the statutory threshold for a safeguarding inquiry.
“As with all our schools, we are able to provide support and advice to ensure that robust policies and procedures are in place”.
Ofsted said it did not comment on individual schools.
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