WIRRAL Council has provided an update on how it is responding to allegations exposed in a BBC Panorama documentary about the LIFE Wirral school. LIFE Wirral, an independent SEND school, based in Victoria Road in Wallasey, made national headlines last month following an undercover investigation by BBC Panorama.

The investigation, titled Cruelty in the Classroom, saw an undercover reporter sent into the school posing as a work experience student. The independent school was regulated by the Department for Education and Ofsted but it was also paid more than £2.2m by Wirral Council, including placements for children under its care.

Ofsted rated the school “good” and found no issues during an emergency inspection called after concerns were raised about the school. However, when the council was notified by the BBC, it pulled all children out of the school and began a complex abuse investigation with Merseyside Police.

LIFE Wirral has hit back at the BBC over the documentary accusing it of being irresponsible but apologised to any students and families affected by the behaviour of staff. The BBC said it took issues of safeguarding seriously and stood by the investigation.

In response to a question from Cllr Keiran Murphy at a health and wellbeing board meeting on July 18, Children's, families and education director, Elizabeth Hartley, said the local authority was working with families both in response to the documentary and supporting them going forward. She said: “This has been a really difficult time for the young people and their families involved.”

She said the local authority had carried out a rapid review that led to the request of an independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review which is expected to move forward next week. She said because a large number of children and families were involved, the review will take time.

She said in the meantime the council was carrying out visits to all the children it looks after in independent settings to get assurances about their welfare. The police investigation into the Life Wirral school remains ongoing.

The issue came up during a debate about improving services for children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities). NHS representatives, councillors and other officials were responding to an improvement notice issued by the Department for Education in May that told Wirral Council to buckle up and improve its service or face government intervention.

Ms Hartley said there had been “really difficult issues we weren’t able to resolve quickly enough to make the improvements that were needed.” She said since the notice was issued in May, they’d been having the right conversations with new plans in place including to recover Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP.)

However, GP Dr Abel Adegoke, said he wasn’t surprised the notice had been issued, adding: “It’s been one of the biggest problems that we have. When you are facing children that need an assessment but you do not have anywhere to send them.” He said this was frustrating as GPs cannot offer treatment but there was nothing they could do due to a backlog in referrals.

This led to calls for NHS and primary care professionals to become members of an improvement board in response to the notice, which was approved at the meeting. Dr Adegoke said the situation was looking more hopeful with some recent changes and new systems potentially improving the situation for frontline staff dealing with referrals.

The issue of the notice came under heavy criticism too from the leader of the local authority’s Conservatives, Cllr Jeff Green. He challenged officers on how the council was using its budget to address the issues and what impact this could have on other services. He said: “How did we get here and why didn’t we know? A relatively senior councillor, I had no idea that we were going to get this.”

He asked for councillors not to be “left in the blind again” as it meant they could do nothing to tackle the issue, adding: “How on earth did it require the government to come in and write an improvement notice to us and we had no idea?”

He said since the notice, a “pretty shocking performance” had been revealed in the council’s figures. A report showed the council had a 17% compliance completing ECHPs on time, down from 33% the previous year and far below its 75% target. Ms Hartley said the local authority had a backlog of plans that had gone out of date.