Allegations have emerged that special needs students have come home with unexplained injuries, have been locked up in unpadded rooms by themselves for hours on end, been strapped down in chairs against their will and have received overall “negligent” treatment from teachers at a local authority school.

Documents seen by the Croydon Guardian reveal damning allegations about Red Gates School in South Croydon that date back years. This includes documents that show a member of staff was suspended on December 19, 2016, following an allegation of kicking a pupil.

Croydon Council says its inspectors recently carried out an unannounced inspection and they were satisfied there was now a “safe environment “ at the school, although the council statement did not comment on allegations of conduct in the past.

The Council went to the High Court to obtain an injunction preventing former head teacher Mia Dodsworth and others from disclosing confidential council information relating to the school or personal data identifying pupils.

A staff questionnaire given to teachers and teacher’s assistants at Red Gates (which was sent out in January 2017) confirmed the use of the quiet room and that some members of staff had concerns over pupils’ safety.

When asked if they ever had concerns over the use of the quiet room, one TA said: “Yes, as it is not padded so children could self-harm and bump their heads.”

Another said the rooms “need to be able to be washed properly so staff can do so after faeces and urine are thrown to the ceiling and wall".

One parent said she was threatened with legal action should she choose to take her child out of the school over her safety concerns.

She said: “He’s come home with a huge bruise on the back of the leg and nobody can tell me why.

“I told the council that I wasn’t happy sending [my child] back to the school, more or less I was told if I didn’t take them back to school I would be taken to court.

“I don’t feel safe them being there now and I don’t trust any of the teachers.”

There is also concern over Red Gates’ use of ‘Heathfield chairs’ which are for “young adults who require minimal levels of postural support”.

Another parent whose child attends the school says she has seen kids strapped into these chairs.

“It seems they may be using it to restrain children," she said.

“I feel sick sending my child back to that school.

“It’s like a glorified babysitting service.”

The first parent also confirmed that her child had been put in the Heathfield chair, despite not having any posture problems.

“I don’t like the thought of my child being restrained, that would really upset him and makes me think, ‘is that why he’s self-harming’.”

Responding to the long list of allegations, a council spokeswoman said: "We recently carried out an unannounced safeguarding audit at Red Gates School.

"Local authority officers found the school to be a safe and positive environment for children. Some areas of improvement were identified to the governing body who are working to address these.

“As a local authority we have a duty to protect personal data and will not sanction any breaches of this legislation. Croydon Council has taken appropriate legal action in order to ensure confidential information and personal data relating to its students and staff is not disclosed.”

Earlier this month the Government took control of Croydon’s children’s services after a damning Ofsted report revealed “widespread and serious” failures were leaving youngsters at risk.

It blamed weak management at all levels of Croydon borough for failing to ensure social workers followed protocols for missing children and those at risk of sexual abuse.

The school provides education for pupils with severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism from four to 11 years of age. It has approximately 122 pupils in 15 classes.

Has your child attended Red Gates School? Send an email to riley.krause@newsquest.co.uk