Aberdare school assault changed autistic pupils - court

Alleged assaults on three severely autistic children at a special school were followed by dramatic changes in behaviour, parents have told a court.

Three pupils were inappropriately handled by a teacher and teaching assistant, Swansea Crown Court heard.

One mother said her son self-harmed after being dragged across a playground in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Mandy Hodges, 50, and Laura Murphy, 33, deny seven counts of assault by beating and cruelty to a child under 16.

CCTV footage from Park Lane Special School showed the alleged assaults on 19 October and 20 2020.

A jury heard the boys, aged eight, nine and 10, had ear defenders "ripped from their ears", were dragged across a playground and removed inappropriately from play equipment.

Acting head teacher Diane Llewellyn told the court that Ms Hodges and Ms Murphy were suspended, removed from the school site and a police investigation began after she saw the footage.

She said she was only allowed to tell parents that a safeguarding issue had arisen and an investigation had begun.

The mother of the 10-year-old boy with autistic spectrum disorder described behavioural changes after he returned to school in September 2020.

"He ripped the curtains and the curtain pole and his TV from the wall," she said. "He was not happy to go to school."

She said he went from being "busy and curious" to self-harming, struggling to sleep and she also heard him "whimper".

Prosecutors claimed his class teacher, Ms Murphy, took the boy in "a heavy handed way," dragging him across a schoolyard.

The mother of the eight-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder and communication difficulties said he was previously "happy, kind and caring" but was now "very withdrawn and didn't want to go to school."

The court was told Ms Hodges caused this boy distress by taking him off a tricycle in an inappropriate way.

The father of the nine-year-old boy said his son, described as "severely autistic, non-verbal and has a sensory processing disorder", would panic without his ear defenders.

Teaching assistant Heather Williams told the court she saw Ms Murphy remove the boy's ear defenders in a "quick, snatching action" on 19 October, leaving him in tears.

She said she also saw Ms Hodges shout "stop" in the boy's face and "ripped his ear defenders off" after he hit or tapped her arm to get her attention.

Ms Williams said: "The nature of it, the aggression. It didn't sit right with me."

The trial continues.