Staff free to abuse children for a decade at residential school

By Lindsay McIntosh

Poorly-trained staff at a residential school were able to abuse children with impunity, according to an independent inquiry published yesterday.

The inquiry into Kerelaw School in Ayrshire found that physical abuse was “prevalent” from 1996 until the school's closure ten years later.

Kerelaw , run by Glasgow City Council, was “neglected” by social work managers and staff were left without direction or adequate leadership. The inquiry also found that staff were not primarily concerned with the interests of the children.

The inquiry report vindicates the claims of widespread abuse from former pupils who were accused by some of a malicious campaign in an attempt to win compensation.

Eddie Frizzell, the retired senior civil servant who chaired the inquiry, said that while he doubted he could provide “closure” for those broken by Kerelaw, he hoped they could find solace in the fact they were believed.

Catherine Glen, 30, who says she was subjected to physical, psychological and sexual violence, welcomed the report but said she wanted proof that the service had changed. She said that there was not a day when she does not think of the abuse and, until she sees a system for children in care which works, she will not believe progress has been made. Cameron Fyfe, the lawyer acting for Miss Glen and seven others seeking compensation, said the report assisted the cases as “it seems to confirm that the abuse we are trying to prove took place”.

The report calls on residential care providers to ensure that staff are properly trained and supported. Adam Ingram, the Minister for Children, is to write to all service providers urging them to review their practice.

Police began investigating allegations of abuse at Kerelaw in 2004 and over the following year, more than 20 staff were suspended or relocated. The school was closed, but its secure unit remained open until March 2006.

In April of that year Matthew George, a former art teacher, and John Muldoon, a former residential care worker, were convicted of abuse and were jailed for ten and two years respectively. George's appeal against his conviction is due to be heard this month. Charges were not brought against anyone else.

The independent inquiry was commissioned by the Scottish government and the council after the local authority's own report into the school, in Stevenson, in 2007, which was condemned by Unison Scotland.

Ronnie Stevenson, convenor of the union's Glasgow city branch of social work stewards, said yesterday that he agreed with the “general trend” of the inquiry report.

Mr Frizzell said that he was amazed at the “polarisation” of the evidence presented to the inquiry by former pupils and members of staff as to whether abuse had taken place.

Some carers who vehemently denied violence went on to detail attacks which they felt were acceptable. Many described a “macho culture” and a “controlling regime” within the school. Staff also humiliated pupils over their family backgrounds.

Although the council and the courts found that sexual abuse occurred, Mr Frizzell said that the only evidence to the inquiry had been of “physical and emotional abuse” with about 40 adults involved. Steven Purcell, the leader of Glasgow City Council, said the council fully accepted the findings of the report and would work to implement its recommendations.

“I believe that we can learn key lessons from this report and can confirm the commitment of Glasgow City Council to ensure that the circumstances which led to this enquiry are not repeated,” he added.

'Cruelty destroyed my dreams'

Case Study: Catherine Glen

The classroom door banged repeatedly against Catherine Glen's head as she lay flat on the floor, pinned down by one of her teachers. Each time a pupil tried to get inside, it would smash against her, until she was pulled to her feet with her arms forced up behind her back.

Eventually, the class teacher asked if help was needed. He did not mean for the vulnerable teenage girl who was in his care, however, but rather for his colleague who was restraining her.

The attack during a history lesson was just one of the physical, sexual and emotional assaults that Miss Glen recalls from her time at Kerelaw in the mid-1990s.

The abuse she suffered between 14 and 16 destroyed her dreams of joining the Army and, instead, prompted her decline into heroin addiction and homelessness. Although now drug-free and engaged, she will never escape the after-effects of Kerelaw.

She has cirrhosis of the liver, from Hepatitis C, and her memories of the school have led her to self-harm and suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. Yesterday, she spoke out in the hope that “no one has to go through what I did”.

She was sent to Kerelaw after her parents separated and she stopped attending mainstream school, where she was bullied. Her mother was drinking heavily and she herself was abusing solvents.

“It wasn't like I had done anything in society to affect others,” she said. “I was moved out to protect myself.”

Yet in the very place she was supposed to be safe she was subjected to painful, humiliating abuse and warned not to report it.

At 16, she ran away. Over the next decade, she slept rough and built up a drug habit until seeking help from an addiction charity.

She never spoke about Kerelaw until in 2004 she was contacted by police. She was later able to give evidence against John Muldoon and Matthew George at their trial.

“I'm glad the report has been done but ... until we can see a difference, it will always be at the back of my head - is it happening to someone else?”.