Deaf News: Children at Derby’s Royal School for the Deaf ‘were put at risk of grooming’

The BBC has reported that the principal of the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby has been suspended after inspectors found that pupils were “put at risk of child sexual exploitation and grooming.”

Extract:

Pupils at a residential school for the deaf were put at risk of child sexual exploitation and grooming, according to inspectors.

The principal at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby has been suspended for “failing to promote the safeguarding needs of the pupils”, Ofsted said.

It was rated “inadequate” in all categories following a two-day inspection in December.

Governors at the 131-pupil school said they were working to resolve issues.

The report rated the school inadequate in five key areas – overall effectiveness, outcomes for residential pupils, quality of residential provision and care, residential pupil safety and leadership.

It highlighted the principal’s failure to share child protection concerns, which it said “directly impacted upon pupils as they were placed at risk of potential grooming and child sexual exploitation”.

The problems at the school, which has children with “complex special needs”, resulted in “social workers and independent reviewing officers attempting to make crucial decisions about the welfare of children looked after without full information before them”.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-31372557