Children at a Jersey children’s home were locked up in solitary confinement an employment tribunal has heard.
Former care home manager Simon Bellwood said children at the Greenfields unit were referred to as ‘inmates’ and rooms were termed ‘cells’.
Jersey is under intense media scrutiny after police found the remains of a child’s body in the former children’s home Haut de la Garenne.
Bellwood claims he was unfairly sacked from the Greenfields home after he blew the whistle on “abusive” child care practice at the secure unit.
He claimed he was unfairly dismissed from his job as centre manager last year, after raising concerns over a system where children as young as 11 were routinely locked up in solitary confinement.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The former manager claimed children in Jersey were being put at risk in childcare services because of deficient practice, poor staff training, lack of external scrutiny of services and a ‘culture of fear’ preventing staff from speaking out.
The case is not believed to be linked to the current police investigation.
