Amanda Spielman

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By Noel TitheradgeBBC News

Children in care were punched, locked out naked and had vinegar poured on cuts, according to reports that were filed over three years before the homes were finally shut.

A BBC investigation has learned more than 100 concerns were logged at the Doncaster children's homes, which retained a " good" Ofsted rating.

Leaked documents also show Ofsted was alerted 40 times about incidents.

The regulator has now apologised, as has Hesley Group, which ran the homes.

More than 100 of the UK's most vulnerable children in care are feared to have been harmed, involving many who are non-verbal.

The homes, which included two residential special schools, charged local authorities £250,000 a year to care for each young person.

The homes continued to be rated as " good" by Ofsted, but in March 2021 the regulator finally stepped in and they were closed shortly afterwards.

that more than 100 safeguarding reports had been made to authorities and, there had been " systemic and sustained abuse" in the homes.

But now - through leaked Hesley Group documents, including confidential safeguarding reports, and interviews with 15 former staff - the BBC can reveal the scale of the failure of authorities to act. Our investigation found:

Children were reportedly locked overnight in bathrooms, left in soiled clothes, made to sit in cold baths and deprived of medication for daysThe mother of a girl - who is autistic and has severe learning difficulties and epilepsy - told us her daughter had been dragged across the floor of a homeCriminal record checks were not signed off for some staff for up to six months after they started working with vulnerable childrenSouth Yorkshire Police - currently investigating some Hesley staff for alleged abuse - was warned by support workers three years before the closuresHesley's accounts recorded a 16% profit of £12m for all the sites it runs - almost the same margin (17%) regarded as " excessive" by a government watchdog

Our latest findings have been described as the worst care scandal since by the providers' group, the Children's Homes Association.

The Hesley Group - owned by private equity firm Antin Infrastructure, which is better known for investing in gas pipelines - continues to run a school and placements for adults with learning disabilities. It says it cannot comment further because of the ongoing criminal investigation by South Yorkshire Police.

Fed chilli flakes

A former support worker at one of the homes, Chloe Straw, told us she had found a child rubbing washing up liquid all over his arms - and had asked him why he was doing it.

" He said 'I do this so the night staff can't grab me,'" she recalls. " That's the lengths that child had to go to, to protect himself. "

From the moment she arrived at Fullerton House in 2017, Chloe says she was immediately struck by what she saw as excessive punishments for children.

Abuse would be openly discussed by colleagues - she says - and some would sit in chairs blocking bedroom doors, so children could not leave.

Chloe says she reported her concerns to senior staff on multiple occasions, but says she was told her account was a matter of perception.

" I literally cried, begged and pleaded with this woman to listen to me. "

Our interviews with former workers like Chloe - and access to confidential Hesley Group incident report logs - reveal a catalogue of physical and emotional abuse and neglect by staff.

A support worker told us they had witnessed a spoon of chilli flakes being fed to a child - and them being denied water.

The incident logs include reports of one child receiving a black eye, while others were punched and kicked in the stomach. One child was reported to have been swung around by their ankles and another locked outside in freezing temperatures while naked.

The documents also describe appalling neglect including a report of a child being locked in a bathroom overnight, two others of children not being given medication for days, and four allegations of others not being fed properly - with at least one child having documented weight loss.

In total, the incident logs obtained by the BBC reveal 104 reports of concern were made at the homes from early 2018 to spring 2021.

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Records show some concerns were found to be proven by the company - such as an unexplained injury to a child's eye and a child being hit over the head with a plastic file. But the vast majority were not, and many of those were not shared with authorities, despite Hesley managers having a legal obligation to do so.

The leaked Hesley logs also show that Doncaster Council's safeguarding lead - known as the LADO - was sent 66 warnings about the Hesley homes over the three-year period. Ofsted received 40 separate alerts - but the homes kept their " good" rating.

Chloe Straw says when she approached the police in 2018, she shared the names of children she had heard were being abused - and those of alleged abusive colleagues - but was told there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case.

" It's disgusting, " she says - thinking of the amount of time it took to get the home she worked in closed. " That's a further three years of abuse. "

Another former support worker told us they had also reported alleged abuse to police in 2018, but had been told there were not enough resources to investigate.

South Yorkshire Police says in both cases there was insufficient evidence to progress with a criminal investigation - but it had referred the allegations to the local authority and had met council staff.

Former Hesley staff we spoke to also complained about severe understaffing and questioned the quality of recruitment of support workers - some of whom were paid £9. 05 per hour in 2020 to work with highly vulnerable and challenging children.

Hesley personnel files - also seen by the BBC - show multiple support workers were allowed to work with children for up to six months before their DBS criminal record checks had been completed.

'Something out of Guantanamo Bay'

Nicola Oades' daughter, Ruby - who is autistic, has epilepsy and significant learning disabilities - was grabbed by the wrist and dragged into her bedroom at Fullerton House by a member of staff, who was later sacked.

" It's appalling, " says Nicola. " It's hard enough to make that decision to put your child into care - you put all your trust into these people. "

Ruby had only recently been moved to Fullerton from a home run by another care and special education provider, Kisimul.

Both Hesley and Kisimul are owned by private equity firm Antin Infrastructure.

A council investigation found that Ruby had previously been harmed by eight members of staff at the Kisimul home. The abuse was so brazen that staff even referred to " twatting" her in messages.

Ruby does not like loud noises - but Kisimul staff would sit her in the kitchen and play the radio at high volume as a punishment, or threaten her with it if she was misbehaving. One staff member compared the practice to " something out of Guantanamo Bay".

" It's soul destroying, " says Nicola. " You'd think when they are getting £250,000 a year, [children] would be getting the Rolls Royce of care. "

Kisimul said it had apologised at the time for care " which fell short of our high standards".

Private equity firms now own more than a quarter of all children's home placements in England and Wales - according to analysis conducted for the BBC by Peter Morris, an expert researcher on such investments.

Morris says he's concerned about the appetite for private equity investment in the sector. He questions how Antin's experience with gas pipelines and toll roads are transferable to children's homes.

" Regulators allow private equity firms to operate mostly in private, so they've got used over the last 40 years to not being held accountable. "

'Horrified'

The abuse in the Hesley homes is the worst care scandal since Winterbourne View - an adult care home near Bristol secretly recorded by BBC Panorama in 2011 - according to Dr Mark Kerr, deputy CEO of the Children's Homes Association.

He says there were clear institutional failings to prevent abuse in the Doncaster homes which he hopes are learned from, but he fears declining standards across the sector.

" We've got record numbers of children in care, a workforce crisis and woefully underfunded local authority services and government regulators. "

Ofsted's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, told the BBC that while there was " a great failure of integrity" by Hesley managers to report incidents, she was " deeply sorry" for the regulator's failures.

" We acted in response to concerns [but] we worked slower than we should have to recognise the pattern of abuse. "

Ms Spielman says Ofsted needs new powers to regulate owners of children's homes - to allow it to " join-up information".

" It's hard to recognise which other homes may have similar risks or if there is a deeper management problem, " she said.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can visit.

In August, from another company - Calcot Services for Children - had contacted Ofsted with their concerns more than a year before we revealed that children had reported being groomed and assaulted.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan says she's " horrified" at what happened in Doncaster - and has written to Ofsted asking what changes it has made in response.

" I expect Ofsted to take urgent action wherever safeguarding concerns are identified, " she said in a statement.

Ms Keegan added that the government planned to strengthen Ofsted's powers to hold private providers to account and would publish " bold" reforms this year.

The Hesley Group declined to be interviewed.

But - in a statement - it said it closed the homes, recognised that failings had been identified, and was " deeply sorry" to those who had been affected. It says it is now focused on running its other placements.

Antin said it was sorry the Hesley homes had failed some children, no dividends had been received from its investment and profits had been spent on raising staff pay and improving care.

Doncaster Council said that safeguarding was provided by an independent service when the homes were open - which has now been disbanded.

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Source of news: bbc.com