Staff accused of abusing children won't be charged

No charges will be brought against staff accused of abusing 95 vulnerable children at residential special schools near Doncaster following a four-year police investigation, the BBC has learned.

A national safeguarding review had found that residents faced "systemic and sustained" abuse and neglect at three children's homes run by the Hesley Group.

BBC News investigations discovered internal reports of children being punched, kicked in the stomach and locked outside naked at the homes before they were shut in 2021.

South Yorkshire Police said it had commissioned an independent review into missed opportunities and would continue to investigate around a dozen cases.

Two of the homes were super-sized and housed scores of vulnerable children - many of whom had disabilities and were non-verbal, and were living far away from home.

In June 2022, the BBC revealed that more than 100 reports of abuse and neglect had been recorded between 2018 and 2021 at the settings.

The homes remained rated "good" by Ofsted throughout.

We later discovered that these reports included appalling neglect and emotional abuse - such as children being fed chilli flakes, left in soiled clothes and having vinegar poured on cuts.

Documents leaked to us also showed that Ofsted had been alerted 40 times about incidents.

South Yorkshire Police and the local authority were also repeatedly warned about concerns.

One support worker told the BBC she had "cried, begged and pleaded" when trying to report abuse to the management of Fullerton House.

In October 2022, an expert panel of safeguarding professionals concluded that children suffered "very serious abuse and neglect" in the homes.

It said it was "profoundly shocking" that this could have occurred in "plain sight" of multiple public agencies.

But South Yorkshire Police has now closed 95 cases and told families that no charges will be brought against staff accused of abuse because of evidential difficulties.

The force said 11 cases would remain open in what had been an "incredibly complex and sensitive investigation".

Maria's son Oliver is autistic and has complex needs, and was placed with Hesley in 2019.

Maria said she was told by an officer that her son is one of more than 100 young people feared to have been harmed in placements which charged local authorities around £250,000 to care for each young person.

Maria said she would frequently find her son wearing no underwear and with unexplained bruises when she visited him.

She said she was informed on one occasion that a member of the public - with a background in social work - had reported witnessing her son being strangled by staff in a minibus on a school trip.

One email sent to the then-chief executive Chris McSharry - among dozens seen by the BBC - shared her concerns of a "culture of institutional abuse" two years before the site's closure.

Maria said the failure to charge anyone over the reported abuse was "disgusting".

"Vulnerable disabled children are just being ignored", she said. "The system's broken".

"It was such gross abuse but still no-one has been held accountable and the company is still operating."

South Yorkshire Police said it had commissioned Operation Hydrant to carry out an independent review into whether all lines of inquiry had been fully explored.

The force said its findings were expected in the next few weeks – and it remained committed to considering all evidence.

"All those at the centre of our investigation have been safeguarded and they and their families remain at the forefront of our mind as we continue this work", said DCI Rebecca Hodgman.

Following the BBC's investigations, the Hesley Group said it had closed the homes, recognised that failings had been identified and was "deeply sorry" to those who had been affected.

It said it was now focused on running its adult placements.

In response to the police's update on the investigation, a spokesperson for the Hesley Group said: "Our team continues to cooperate fully with the investigation and engage as openly as possible with our affected colleagues and the families of those we care for and support."

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