An autistic student had a table pushed into him multiple times in the classroom while the teacher observed, and another student recorded the incident.
This is the moment when an autistic student at Edgarwood Academy in Middleton is repeatedly pushed with a table by two female students in the classroom. The autistic student eventually defends himself by pushing the table back and lifting it towards the female students before gathering his belongings and exiting the classroom. The teacher did very little to safeguard the student from harm, and the students can be heard verbally abusing the boy.
After the incident, the teacher gave the autistic student a 30-minute detention for exiting the classroom. More concerning is that another student recorded the video and uploaded it to social media/TikTok.
The school has not sufficiently responded to the complaint lodged by the student's parent. Since its opening in September 2021, the school has encountered major challenges, such as having two different headteachers.
The student has experienced bullying from both students and staff who lack the skills and knowledge to properly educate and support students with SEN and special needs, choosing to punish them instead. This includes giving detentions to students with sensory issues for not wearing socks or for a pen running out, which is quite alarming.
Numerous other parents are experiencing the same challenges and dealing with similar issues, with some choosing to withdraw their children from the school and look for alternative placements because of safeguarding concerns.
Mr. Paul Jones, the current headteacher, has not successfully implemented school policies concerning the safeguarding of vulnerable students and the regulation of mobile phone use during school hours. Additionally, he has poorly addressed bullying complaints. A post regarding mobile phones was shared on the Edgarwood Facebook page.
The post was established in response to the discovery that the video footage had been circulated on social media. An Ofsted report indicates that the school has consistently had a poor reputation.
The school's primary concern is the use of mobile phones rather than addressing bullying, as evidenced by another update posted on the Edgarwood Academy Facebook page today (13th March 2023).
The school has restricted commenting to only the page's admins, failing to address bullying. The online video reveals what actually occurs within the classrooms at Edgarwood Academy. The school has yet to issue any official public statement or offer an apology to the student with autism.
Here are some comments from others, including parents with children at the school, shared in a local Facebook group, suggesting that the school has more issues beyond this incident.
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