Abuse at Doncaster children's homes included violence, neglect and sexual harm, report reveals

The independent review by the independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel into the experiences of 108 children and young adults living at Fullerton House, Wilsic Hall and Wheatley House found “medication was misused and maladministered, an over-use of restraints, and unsafe and inappropriate use of temporary confinement.”

Children from all over the country were placed in the homes, which were run by the Hesley Group.

Complaints about the homes were received as far back as 2015, but they weren’t suspended until 2021 by OFSTED after an emergency inspection following 12 whistleblowing allegations.

The investigation is known as Operation Lemur Alpha.

Lead Panel Member for the Review, Dr Susan Tranter, said: “Following allegations that a significant number of children who were living far away from home, often with limited communication skills, were trapped in settings where systemic and sustained abuse was inflicted with no respite, we spoke to those responsible for placing the children in these settings and for checking on their welfare to understand exactly what went wrong.

“It is clear to us that the standards of practice in care are failing to meet the needs of children with complex needs. The second phase of this national review will explore the systemic issues in children’s social care, health and education that must be addressed to ensure we learn from these horrific incidents and to prevent this from happening again

Most of the children living in the three homes were aged 13 to 16. Over 100 children lived in the homes during the course of 2018-2021, with some 700 staff.

Specific details of the nature of allegations have been kept under wraps while South Yorkshire Police decides whether any of them meet the criminal threshold.

DCI Phil Etheridge, said: "I understand members of the public will be concerned by this investigation and want to assure you that we are doing all we can, as part of the partnership, to address the issues that have been raised.

"Since Operation Lemur Alpha launched we have been working hard to identify whether any children, young people or adults suffered any experiences at these settings which would meet the threshold for criminal investigation.”