Gardaí are investigating referrals received from child protection authorities regarding allegations of physical and emotional abuse of vulnerable pupils at a second level school.
An Education and Training Board (ETB), which runs the school, has confirmed that an employee has been suspended pending formal inquiries.
It follows a letter of complaint signed by staff at the school who say they witnessed a number of inappropriate incidents involving the principal’s treatment of disabled students.
RTÉ News reported that allegations include the forced partial undressing of an autistic pupil in front of other students; inappropriate physical contact with a student including hugging and sitting on their lap; and the verbal belittling of some children attending the school.
The principal is reported to have described the allegations as “completely false” and said some of the claims were “staffroom gossip”.
In a statement, the Education and Training Board said “an individual employee at a school under our patronage has been placed on administrative leave, without prejudice, relating to matters that are now the subject of ongoing formal enquiries and around which we are unable to comment further at this time”.
It said it was “at all times committed to ensuring the highest standards of service and wellbeing for all students in our care and for the entire school community”.
Among the allegations reported to be outlined in a letter of complaint include:
* Staff saying that they had to “hide” certain students with disabilities because they were being “deliberately targeted”
* One distressed student with an intellectual disability being “stripped” in a classroom by the school principal “to put him in a shirt and tie”
* A child with special educational needs being belittled and called names such as silly, stubborn and immature
* An autistic student who was hugged tightly on “many occasion” for between 30 seconds and a minute, causing him “great distress”. The principal is alleged to have sat on the same pupil’s lap “to help him regulate”
* Staff said they had to consciously try to protect a named student from being antagonised by the principal
* Staff said there were a number of occasions where the principal shouted and swore at parents, including telling one parent to “f*** off”; in another case a student who was crying after an incident was allegedly told by the principal to “shut up”
Gardaí confirmed they have commenced an investigation into a number of referrals received from Tusla concerning conduct at an educational establishment.
Tusla, the child and family agency, said it did not comment on individual cases to protect the privacy of the children and families it works with.
“When a child or family enters into a relationship with a public service such as Tusla they are entitled to expect that information generated in that relationship is treated in confidence and remains private. This is critically important in the subject matters which Tusla is involved,” it said.
AsIAm, the autism charity, said it was “deeply disturbed” by the allegations.
“Without prejudice to the investigation, it is important to note that the alleged incidents concerning the use of restraint, a lack of respect for sensory accommodations and an inappropriate and discriminatory application of the code of behaviour are all too common within our community. The fact that such incidents may have taken place suggests a system which has neglected to enact any guidelines on the use of seclusion and restraint, or to put in place the appropriate mandatory training for school staff,” said Adam Harris, the charity’s chief executive.
He called on the Department of Education to urgently provide clarity on the timeline for publication of both guidelines on the use of restraint in school and associated training for school employees.
Mr Harris said it was also of note that all too often situations of real concern are not addressed in a timely manner due to an “antiquated and bureaucratic schools complaints process which does not prioritise the human rights of students concerned”
