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Assaults, restraints, and 'constant fear': The school where excessive force was used against pupils
Harvey Benson attended Wings between 2019 and 2020, and claims staff used physical restraint to 'discipline' pupils
A 19-year-old from Workington says he lived with "constant fear" while a student at a residential school for pupils with social, emotional, and mental health needs in Cumbria, which closed after a summer Ofsted inspection found children had been subject to "excessive force".
Harvey Benson, who was 13 when he started attending Wings School in Milnthorpe, says staff regularly used physical restraints on him and other pupils.
It comes as police in Cumbria launch Operation Falcon, a major investigation into allegations of unlawful behaviour at the school, which was owned and run by the Kedleston Group.
Data obtained via a Freedom of Information request, seen by ITV News, shows police attended the school 86 times in the ten years between 2013 and 2023, following allegations of assault. The data doesn't distinguish between reports of assaults by pupils and reports of assaults by teachers.
A solicitor told ITV News that multiple ex-pupils are considering pursuing claims against the Kedleston Group
But a lawyer from Oakwood Solicitors, who specialises in pursuing compensation claims for alleged victims of abuse, told ITV News a number of former Wings Cumbria pupils had been in touch alleging they were mistreated at the school.
"We’re being contacted week on week, more people are getting in touch with similar complaints," said Molly Frost.
"The allegations in the main relate to physical assault and the use of unauthorised and excessive restraints.
"I would say the cases we have now have reached double figures," she added.
In June, Ofsted Inspectors carried out a surprise inspection of Wings School following reports that pupils were being mistreated. It found that “the school’s physical intervention practice is unsafe with pupils subject to excessive force and unsafe holds”.
The report added "some staff do not recognise that some of their actions are restrictive physical intervention" and suggested “leaders and staff do not intervene to prevent or challenge the inappropriate or harmful behaviour of their colleagues towards pupils”.
The school was closed just days later.
In a statement, an Ofsted spokesperson said: “It is very upsetting to hear allegations of abuse from pupils at Wings School. Safeguarding is central to our inspections and we take it extremely seriously.
"We will always take quick and decisive action when we uncover concerns on inspection, including suspending a setting’s registration where necessary. And we work closely with those lead agencies responsible for investigating concerns about children’s safety - as was the case with Wings School.”
Speaking to ITV News, former pupil Harvey Benson, who was in care at the time he attended Wings School in 2019, claimed a "toxic" and "militaristic" environment existed there.
"They'd use physical restraint as a sort of discipline," he said.
"It could be where they'd grab your hands, put it [them] behind your back, up against the wall. They really liked the floor restraint where they're just pinning you on the floor, stretching your hands behind your back."
On one occasion, Benson alleges a staff member encouraged one pupil to hit another child.
"I can remember one morning coming in and there was one of the pupils in there, preparing to go to school, and he had ADHD and could run around in circles for hours in the morning until he had his medication," he remembered.
"One of the staff restrained him because he was talking nonstop and running about. He put him straight onto the chair and restrained him, pinned him against the chair and was asking another pupil to hit him, saying 'hit him, hit him'."
ITV News has also seen photographs of injuries which Mr Benson says he sustained after he alleges he was assaulted by a teacher.
"I was in detention and he asked us to do work into detention and I refused to do it and he wasn't very happy about that," he said.
At the end of the detention, Harvey said he walked out of the classroom. "He came up behind us and I had a blazer on," he added.
"He grabbed us on the shoulders and rived [pulled] us back through, and during that I hit my arm on the doorframe and it broke the skin."
Mr Benson later reported the incident to the police, who took a statement from him. At the time, no further action was taken, although police in Cumbria may now review the decision as part of a new investigation.
ITV News understands that Cumbria Constabulary did investigate allegations of unlawful behaviour at Wings under 'Operation Scale', which was ultimately shut down with no action taken.
However, after the school's closure, the force launched Operation Falcon, and in a statement Cumbria Constabulary said its new inquiry would include "an in-depth review of any previous abuse by employees at the school, inclusive of Operation Scale, as well as any subsequent allegations".
Harvey Benson says children in care 'are supposed to have a voice' as police launch an investigation
The statement also said that the Constabulary was "aware of recent allegations relating to alleged abuse at a school in South Cumbria".
"As a result, Operation Falcon was established, and police are working closely with a number of partner agencies as part of the enquiry.
"The investigation is being run by the Force Major Incident Team (FMIT) to establish the full circumstances of the allegations."
The Kedleston Group, which ran Wings, runs a number of other schools throughout the UK.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the group said: “The safety and well-being of children and young people is a responsibility we take very seriously.
“We are fully co-operating with the on-going external investigation and we will continue to assist however we can. At this time, and to our knowledge, no claim of misconduct relating to any member of staff has resulted in further action being taken by the authorities.
“In relation to physical intervention, it is our organisation-wide policy that this should only ever be used as a last resort and only to keep a child, or those around them, safe.
“Where concerns are raised, these are reported to all relevant authorities and fully investigated. Should any issue be identified, positive and proactive action is taken."
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