'Whitewash'

Fernhurst High School, Blackburn - a special school for children with behavioural difficulties - was closed for seven months.

Union bosses today called on council officials to "come clean" about the real reason for shutting the school which was reopened to 50 pupils at the end of May although no work on the stairwell has yet been carried out.

Information obtained by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, shows that from September, 2004, until May 18, 2005, six teachers required professional medical treatment and police today confirmed that they have been called to the school 24 times - even though the school was closed between November, 2004, and May 2005.

Incidents included:

l A teacher being run at and headbutted in the stomach.

l Another member of staff attacked by a male pupil causing bruising and loss of feeling in the legs.

o An IT classroom being "trashed" by a pupil who threw equipment at, and kicked the legs of a teacher.

o A chair being thrown at a member of staff whose face was then punched by a male pupil causing swelling and bruising.

o A teacher falling to the floor with a twisted ankle after being kicked.

o One pupil attacking another with punches to the face below the left eye causing bruising and swelling.

o Stools being thrown around a classroom by a pupil who had been asked to leave. A teacher was hit on the ankle.

o A door kicked by a pupil while being held open by a member of staff caused chest and knee injuries which required hospital treatment.

In nine months there were 10 incidents which involved personal injury.

The National Association of School Masters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said the school had been in difficulty since it first opened and said these incidents just reflected what union members had already reported.

Lesley Ham, secretary for the NASUWT, said: "The only way they could close the school quickly was under health and safety measures by claiming there was an issue with the staircase but I am afraid that that picture does not fit.

"I have been in the school a number of times since the pupils were reintroduced in May and no structural work has been carried out on the stairwell or staircase.

"Staff have been subjected to verbal and physical assaults from pupils which has led to staff absenteeism but these incidents are just the tip of the iceberg.

"Most of the incidents don't even get reported and I have bags of evidence of teachers reports of other serious incidents.

"This has been a complete white wash and it is about time the authorities admitted that this school is out of control."

Simon Jones, National Union of Teachers national executive member, added: "This is an extremely worrying development and we are very concerned for our members who work there."

A police spokesperson said: "The police have been called to the school 24 times from September 2004 to today, however not all these are incidents of

assault or nuisance. Some are vehicle obstructions or other miscellaneous inquiries.

"However, in this time period we have recorded 15 crimes that include assaults and criminal damage."

Today the council continued to insist that the school was closed, and pupils dispersed to other special needs schools in the borough for six months because of safety concerns over a stairwell and staircase and not, as union officials claim, because staff were struggling to cope with the behaviour of pupils.

When asked again about union's claims that the stairwell had been used as "an excuse to rein in an out of control school" and why it had been reopened without any work being carried out the spokesperson would only say: "The Council has a clear policy that any accident, near-miss or incident of violence is to be reported.

"From experience, the accident forms relating to Fernhurst which included incidents between pupils and a pupil accident are in line with other emotional and behavioural difficulty (EBD) schools nationally which are dealing with the most challenging young people.

"After reviewing the options it was decided to undertake improvements to the stairwell, along with other routine maintenance and refurbishment during this summer holiday period to minimise disruption to the school. In the meantime, class bases have been re-organised and pupils re-routed when moving around the school to avoid the stairwell."