Whitefield School: Shocking investigation reveals 'special' pupils have been ... trends now
Pupils at a special school were allegedly tortured by staff who hit and kicked students before leaving them in their own urine, a BBC probe has claimed.
Disabled pupils were subjected to vile abuse from staff members at the Whitefield School in Walthamstow, east London, after being left alone in so-called calming rooms for up to four hours at a time.
A BBC investigation revealed that six staff members at the special school, which is one of the largest in the UK with around 370 pupils, were proven to have abused 39 children between 2014 and 2017.
This reportedly included the use of 'excessive force' such as slamming, kicking and hitting pupils 'without obvious justification', while others were left in the rooms alone with no clothes on, sitting in their own urine.
One pupil of the school, David Gloria, who has been diagnosed with autism, ADHD and OCD, was on one occassion placed in the calming room for three hours, during which he began hitting himself before urinating on the floor.
David Gloria, pictured with his mother and father, was one of the pupil subjected to vile abuse from staff members at the Whitefield School in Walthamstow, east London
Whitefield is one of the largest special schools in the UK with around 370 pupils
His father, Ricardo, who is also a police officer, noticed his son became increasingly distressed after several months of starting at the school.
He asked staff if he could see the so called calming room, which are designated spaces for disabled children to use outside of classrooms to work on their anger and de-escalate their emotions.
Ricardo was expecting to see a large room with plenty of calming activites for the children to occupy themselves with.
But instead he was shocked by what he saw. He told the BBC: 'It was a cell, even worse than a cell. Small, no water, no food, no light and no fresh air.
Ricardo then noticed a camera in the room and asked to see CCTV footage of the time David had spent in there.
He said the footage showed David being 'assualted' by staff who kneed David in the back and pushed inside the room.
Within 25 minutes of being in the room, David began crying and questioning why he was there, saying he is 'confused' and 'I do not understand'.
As the hours went by, David reportedly began slapping and punching his head, hitting his stomach and throwing himself into the wall.
David was also recorded urinating twice on the floor, before finally being released back to the classroom to 'recover' after three hours.
David is pictured sat next to his father Ricardo, who is also a police officer. He noticed his son became increasingly distressed after several months of starting at the school
Ricardo said he saw footage showing David being 'assualted' by staff who kneed David in the back and pushed inside the room
He also showed the BBC this reports, which states that within 25 minutes of being in the room, David began crying and questioning why he was there
Ricardo said: 'My son was in a panicked state and crying and self harming, begging them for water, begging them to go out and begging them for food. And they just ignored him.
'It's not human what they done with my son. When I saw back the footage I couldn't believe it. It's torture.'
Speaking about his time spent in the calming room, David said: 'I was sweaty, I was angry, I was upset. They didn't listen to me, they was ingnoring me.
'They let me do a wee wee on the floor.'
When starting at the school David, intially visted the claming room once a week, but by the end, he was being put in there up to five times each week.
When asked why he was being sent there, David was told by staff that he was 'not being sensible'.
Halima is the mother on another pupil who attended Whitefield and was reportedly placed in a calming room on two occassions.
Her son Abdulahi allegedly pushed by staff members before being left alone walking on his knees while in tears. Records of police
