Anger at sudden closure of special school

Unions are furious at the sudden closure of a special school in Gloucestershire after a damning report by Ofsted.

Coln House Residential Special School in Fairford looks after about 35 pupils, aged nine to 16. They all have complex learning difficulties.

Gloucestershire County Council said pupils were removed from the school on Friday for their "safety and well-being".

It follows an inspection in May by Ofsted which rated the school as inadequate.

• Leaders and governors have not implemented and monitored the school’s safeguarding policies and systems effectively to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Staff lack the necessary training and guidance they need to ensure that pupils are safe in school and in the residential provision.

• The number of incidents of physical restraint continues to be high and the recording of incidents of physical restraint is of a poor quality. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to reflect on and improve their behaviour following restraint.

• The capacity of senior leaders to drive improvement is inadequate. The school has only recently identified members of staff with the skills to support the headteacher in her work. Currently, the headteacher is alone in bringing about improvement.

• The school does not meet the national minimum standards for residential special schools. Standards identified as unmet at the previous inspection of the residential provision continue to be so.

A group has been set up on Facebook to try to save the school. A number of people who have joined the group have shared their memories of Coln House School and how it helped them.

The NUT has written to Gloucestershire County Council concerned about the way the children had their lives overturned.

The National Union of Teachers is also backing its members at Coln House whose reputations it claims have been 'so carelessly damaged by the actions of the Local Authority in recent days and in their determination to save their jobs'.

It is calling on Gloucestershire County Council to review the circumstances of its action, which it believes will vindicate staff.

The NUT is also taking advice on whether to apply for a Judicial Review of the local authority decision to close the school.