Horrified mum watched harrowing CCTV of autistic child being beaten by school teaching assistant

Shocking footage shows how a severely disabled schoolboy was brutally beaten by a teaching assistant. While the youngster’s mother watched the video in horror, she says CCTV is the only way to protect vulnerable pupils who are unable to speak.

Sustained attack on autistic child

Teaching assistant, William Kevin Clifford, 61, was captured on camera repeatedly attacking Tobie Orlowski - who has a mental age of two - during a sustained 20 minute attack. The video (click to play above) shows Clifford pushing over Tobie, and forcing his face to the ground. He then appears to punch and kick Tobie, who is severely autistic and mute, while he sits on the ground as other children play nearby.

Tobie tried to crawl away but the teaching assistant followed him, and kneed him in the back as he was crouched behind a small gate in the playground, at Tettenhall Wood School in Wolverhampton.

‘Our children can’t tell us what happened’

Tobie's mum Charlotte has now called for all special schools to have CCTV following the shocking attack on her son in April last year. She told the BBC: "So many of our children can't speak, they can't tell us what happened. They're not credible witnesses. If something has happened, there's nothing, there's no cameras, there's no footage, no evidence. We cannot get justice without CCTV."

Abuser spared lengthy jail term

Clifford was handed a suspended jail sentence earlier this month at Wolverhampton Crown Court but disturbing footage has only just been released. The judge deemed Clifford had already suffered for his actions, and spared him a lengthy jail term as he had endured a ‘huge amount of suffering whilst waiting for this case to be concluded, including anxiety, weight gain and the inability to secure any employment’.

Ross Ashcroft, headteacher of Tettenhall Wood School, said in a statement: “Following the recent prosecution and subsequent sentence of William Kevin Clifford we only wish to state that the person in question has not been in school since the day that the incident occurred and his employment was subsequently terminated.

“The school have followed all processes correctly in dealing with this matter with children’s safety and wellbeing always at the heart of everything we do.”