Mother hits out at Churchill Park Academy over shaving foam

The mum, who asked not to be named, has raised a series of concerns about the care her son receives at Churchill Park Academy in King's Lynn.

The nine-year-old, who is non-verbal and has Williams syndrome, autism and severe learning disabilities, has attended the special school for the past four years.

However, his mother has been at loggerheads with school leaders for a number of months, after criticising the academy's approach to his education.

The school has said it is confident it is providing a "safe nurturing environment", but the mother said she believed her son was not suitably supervised and claimed staff would leave him to his own devices for long periods of time.

Her frustrations came to a head when staff sent her photographs through an app used to update parents showing him covered in shaving foam.

The foam was being used for "sensory play", which is not uncommon in early years education, but she said nothing was being done to prevent him from ingesting it.

She claimed that on other occasions he had been left in wet clothes for long periods of time and that she had found glitter in his vomit.

She said that highlighting her concerns with the school was "breaking her every day".

She said: "It feels like he just isn't being looked after."

Ellie Weathersall, headteacher at Churchill Park, said: "Our sensory activities encourage children to learn through exploration, curiosity, problem-solving and creativity.

"They are adapted for different ages, needs and abilities and pupils are closely supervised - our children enjoy these activities and really benefit from this opportunity to learn through play.

"We work closely with parents and carers to make sure that we understand and are able to meet the needs of our pupils and will always listen and respond to feedback.

"We will be in touch with the parent to discuss and look into their concerns."