Special school firm settles out of court with pupil after Bristol abuse scandal

A young man with profound learning difficulties has been awarded an out-of-court settlement from a company that runs special needs residential schools across the country, after he was abused in a school in Bristol.

But no one has been prosecuted over the abuse at St Christopher’s School in Westbury Park, despite it closing suddenly in 2019 amid complaints from Bristol City Council that at least five children there suffered abuse. Police had acknowledged there was a legal loophole that prevented charges being brought.

A Channel 4 investigation confirmed Jonah Maxwell and his family had received an out-of-court settlement from Aurora, a company funded by the private equity group Octopus Group, with the terms of the settlement including no admission of liability by Aurora. In a statement, the company said it ‘remained saddened’ that it could not turn the school around after taking it over three years earlier.

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Bristol Live first broke the scandal at St Christopher’s School back in July 2019, when the school and residential care home suddenly closed following allegations of child cruelty. At the time, council chiefs and police were involved, with Avon and Somerset police confirming they were working with ‘multi-agency partners’, had notified Ofsted, and confirmed some members of staff had been suspended.

On August 1, 2019, the then council chief in charge of people service, Dr Jacqui Jensen, told Bristol Live that the police were ‘investigating allegations of child cruelty offences relating to an independent residential special school and care facility’, and added that Ofsted had issued a suspension notice, effectively closing the residential care home side of the school.

At the time, one of the families who spoke out about what had happened was Jonah Maxwell’s. He was 16 at the time, and his father Kevin told Bristol Live he was concerned at the sudden closure, which left Jonah and other children who lived there without specialist support.

Jonah, who is autistic, non-verbal, and has a profound learning disability, needs round-the-clock care and supervision.

Now, a Channel 4 investigation has revealed that Jonah was one of the children who suffered abuse at the hands of a small number of members of staff there. Channel 4 reported that Jonah had taken Aurora to court for a breach of his human rights, with his mother Anna explaining that, while they knew the details of a couple of the allegations – that he was woken up every couple of hours by one member of staff, and pushed around by another – they may never know the full extent of Jonah’s ordeal.

Channel 4 also confirmed that no one was ever prosecuted for what happened at St Christopher’s. One of the members of staff left the country soon afterwards, another denied it and wasn’t charged, and police found they were not able to bring corporate charges against Aurora.

A statement from Avon and Somerset police explained that, because the residential care home was registered as part of a school, it was regulated by Ofsted and not the Care Quality Commission and, on a technicality, that meant those in charge could not be held responsible because the corporate law about abuse in a residential setting only applied to care setting regulated by the CQC, not schools.

“The material we reviewed confirmed that Aurora St Christopher’s was first and foremost a school,” a spokesperson for the police said.

“It was regulated by Ofsted and not the Care Quality Commission. Whilst staff were able to administer medication, they are unable to prescribe medication and there was not a doctor routinely on site,” they added.

Bristol City Council has confirmed that, in August 2019, it had issued a notification of serious harm of a child relating to five or more children at St Christopher’s with allegations of child cruelty by professionals. At the time it was described as ‘serious harm and abuse’.

St Christopher’s itself never recovered and after the shutdown of its residential side, the school itself closed completely soon after, prompting a separate planning battle over the future use of the site for the last four years, which continues into 2024.

Aurora took over the school in 2016 and said in a statement it believed it had tried to turn around the culture at the school, and it was this that eventually encouraged staff members to become whistleblowers and report the abuse.

“We remain saddened that the families affected by the circumstances leading to the closure of St Christopher’s continue to feel distressed,” the company told Channel 4. “Aurora had stepped in to save St Christopher’s, which was rated inadequate under previous ownership, in response to a parents’ campaign to prevent its proposed closure by a charity that couldn’t carry on running it.

“We regret that despite our multi-million pound investment in improved facilities and staffing, the plan to transform St Christopher’s into a vibrant and positive place to live and learn didn’t succeed.

Read more: as it happened, the scandal at St Christopher’s

“We did all that we could to improve the culture and practice at St Christopher’s including appointing a well-regarded and experienced leadership team. This team introduced an effective whistleblowing policy that meant a staff member finally felt safe enough to report historic and ongoing concerns about a small number of colleagues.

“The individuals in question were immediately suspended, which is usual practice in good children’s services while an investigation takes place. The concerns were properly reported by the St Christopher’s leadership team to the local authority’s safeguarding team.

“We worked closely with the relevant authorities, including the police, to fully investigate the concerns regarding the suspended employees. After a thorough investigation, police decided to take no further action.

“Many parents wanted us to continue caring for their children during the investigation. However, it became impossible to keep St Christopher’s open during this time and we took the difficult decision to voluntarily close.

“We then did all that we could to support the children, their families, and staff during this challenging time, and we continue to wish everyone well,” they added.