Former pupil restrained at school has damages cut

Appeal judges have reduced the damages previously awarded to a former pupil who said he was repeatedly restrained at a private residential special school.

The man was a pupil at the Mulberry Bush School in Standlake, Oxfordshire, more than a decade ago and was awarded £18,900 in damages by the High Court in November 2024.

Three judges cut that to £6,000 for damages regarding three incidents when he was restrained. They quashed two of his three previous claims following an appeal by the charity that runs the school on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the school said it disagreed with the judges' conclusion on the three restraints and that it is "considering [its] options".

The judges found in the case of three restraints, force used was "not reasonable in all the circumstances" and that £2,000 in compensatory damages for each of them awarded in 2024 remained warranted.

The pupil had to be restrained on 117 occasions in just over a year and the school recorded 550 incidents of his disruptive behaviour, the court was told.

Lord Justice Bean, on behalf of the three judges, said he recognised "the challenging task" the school's staff faced and that in the "overwhelming majority" of cases, their conduct was "beyond any criticism".

Ofsted found pupils "thrive" at the "transformative" school, which inspectors said had a "highly ambitious and broad" curriculum, at an inspection in September 2024.

In a statement, the school spokesperson said the court found that there was "no negligence" found on its part.

They added: "We have been working with children and families affected by complex emotional needs for over 75 years and always endeavour to do what is right and best for every individual child.

"This work is never done in isolation, and we always work closely with everyone involved in a child's care."

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