PROBLEMS at a short stay school in Worcester are part of a bigger picture of poor support for troubled or vulnerable youngsters across the county, according to some headteachers.

We previously reported that Newbridge Short Stay School was put in special measures after Ofsted inspectors said it was failing.

Alun Williams, head of Nunnery Wood High School, said it was “an open secret” that Newbridge was in difficulty.

He said: “This is part of a bigger picture about provision in Worcestershire, which we all accept has been poor. The behaviour support area is poor and has been poor for a while.”

Mr Williams blamed the situation on a lack of leadership within the local authority.

Neil Morris, head of Christopher Whitehead Language College, said: “It has been commonly known among schools for the past five or six years that the pupil referral units (former name for short stay schools) were struggling.

“It’s too simplistic to just regard the school and the staff and the pupils as failing. There has been a powder keg and a difficult mix put together without, in my opinion, the expert support, resources that these vulnerable and difficult youngsters needed.

“I feel very sorry for everybody involved and the bottom line is there are some difficult children in our community who have issues that need addressing and at a time of huge cuts. Problems will surface if we don’t address these.

“In my nine years as headteacher, the cuts have been strident.

“We’ve now got children with behavioural difficulties mixing with children with emotional difficulties, mixing with children with disabilities. It needs a rethink and a lot of money spending on it which is not going to be easy.”

However, John Edwards, Worcestershire County Council ’s head of learning and achievement, said a review was under way for better support for those with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD).

He stressed that included children with emotional problems and special needs, as well as those with behavioural issues at short stay schools.

He said headteachers had expressed concerns about BESD support, which was why consultation with them was under way. However, he said he did not agree that lack of policy from the local authority or funding was the reason for the problems. He also denied the children had been mixed together.

He said: “We are trying to work with schools to help them manage pupils at risk of exclusion.

“We need to look at how we work effectively with that.

“We are looking at how we can reorganise and how the county council can restructure that part of the service to better meet the needs of each pupil.”

He said the review was for “positive reasons” rather than cost-cutting.