A mum is suing her autistic son’s former school after he was repeatedly physically restrained by teachers.
Emma Donoghue, 34, has launched legal action after a report confirmed six-year-old Joshy’s arm had been tied with his own leg gaitors to stop him hurting himself.
West Midlands Police were initially alerted to the incidents at Victoria School and Specialist Arts College, in Northfield, but took no action.
Now angry Emma, a full-time carer for her son, who also has cerebral palsy, has launched a civil case against Birmingham City Council, which runs the school.
She said: “No-one in their right mind would think that it is right to do that to a six-year-old boy.
“Joshy has been failed by those who taught him and the people responsible for safeguarding children.”
The incidents took place at the school in 2011.
In documents seen by the Birmingham Mail, the council confirmed teachers restrained Joshy using his leg gaitors, in a bid to stop him putting his fingers in his mouth and “making himself sick”.
Yet Emma, from Rednal, says she had previously told staff that simply distracting her son would stop the self-harm.
West Midlands Police were informed at the time, but said no action would be taken as the matter was a ‘training issue’.
Emma says she noticed her son was not his usual self a few months before she discovered what had happened at the school.
“He was very anxious and wasn’t sleeping very well,” she explained. “He didn’t want to go to school so I called in a psychiatrist to assess him.
“During our third meeting at the school that I found out he was being restrained.
“Joshy’s teacher saw me and said ‘we need to ask your permission to continue using his leg gaitors on his arms to stop himself being sick’.
“I was in total shock and luckily his psychiatrist was standing there and overheard the conversation.”
Emma and the psychiatrist immediately issued a safeguarding referral and Joshy was removed from the school.
In a meeting with education chiefs three months later headteacher Justine Sims confirmed that the gaitors were used on his arm. Ms Sims was not involved in the restraining of Joshy.
Minutes from the meeting stated: “Staff were spoken to and advised they had used Joshua’s gaitor as a means of protecting him, but agreed this should have been discussed with his mother”.
The report concluded that the incident was down to a ‘training issue’ and that those teachers involved would attend a course.
*Watch: Angry mum Emma hits out at son's treatment
Emma said: “They blamed it on a training issue, there were no thoughts for the child involved.
“I came into the school once a week so was easily contactable or they could have called me before he was restrained.”
Emma wants the council to admit what was done to Joshy and formally apologise. The 11-year-old is now at a different school and thriving.
She said: “Joshy was doing really well with his walking whilst wearing the gaitors. However, this really set him back and he was terrified of his gaitors, so much so that I couldn’t use them on him anymore.
“He still cannot walk five years on, but he is much happier and a very giggly boy. He is very loving and loves his bike and playing with his iPad.
“There was a noticeable difference when he left the school and I have never seen him put his fingers in his mouth to make himself sick since then.”
A letter sent to Emma last year from the school stated: “The actions were taken as a reasonable and necessary measure so as to prevent harm. A leg gaitor was applied to only one of Joshua’s arms, namely his left arm which he had been using to try and make himself sick.
“The gaitor was not applied to the whole length of Joshua’s arm, just sufficient to prevent Joshua being able to reach his mouth with his hand so as to prevent him being able to put his fingers down his throat. The gaitor stopped above wrist level so that the function of the left hand from the wrist down was not affected.”
But Emma says the minutes from the meeting about the incidents confirms BOTH arms were restrained.
She said: “If they’d only put the gaitor on one arm, as they now claim, then surely he would have been perfectly capable of making himself sick with the unrestrained arm?”
A Birmingham City Council spokeswoman said it could not comment while civil proceedings were taking place.
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