How did abuse of disabled children go undetected?

Parents are demanding answers over how a paedophile was able to abuse potentially dozens of disabled and special educational needs children while working as a teaching assistant.

Daniel Clarke may have targeted “well over 81” vulnerable young people over a decade, according to detectives overseeing a major West Midlands Police investigation.

The 29-year-old was jailed last month for offences against six children, but officers believe he could be one of the most prolific sex offenders of recent times.

The BBC can now reveal he held key safeguarding responsibilities at two council-run schools as recently as September 2023, where bosses said they acted as soon as concerns came to light.

In February, Clarke pleaded guilty to offences including making indecent photographs of a child, assaulting children by touching, and inciting children to engage in sexual activity with no penetration.

The charges included Clarke’s work, separately, as a personal assistant to several children, but he had also been responsible for online safety at Forest Oak and Merstone schools before he was arrested in October 2024.

He is thought to have begun working with the local authority-run special schools as a teaching assistant in 2016.

Both of them are rated outstanding by Ofsted and are separate but share facilities and an executive head teacher.

The BBC has spoken to multiple people who claim concerns were raised by staff and parents at Forest Oak about Clarke at least three months before he was arrested.

“He should not have continued working at that school but he did, which tells you they didn’t do anything,” one anonymous mother said.

“If they had any inkling whatsoever that man should have been suspended pending an investigation.”

A sentencing hearing was told Clarke had made a list of his victims, some of which dated back to 2016.

The local authority told the BBC that as soon as it was made aware of concerns about Clarke, it immediately contacted police and this led to his October arrest.

However, it has refused to reveal when concerns were first raised with the school.

Nor has it said if an internal investigation will be carried out to look at how the case was handled.

Saj Golby, who runs the North Solihull Additional Needs Support Group, told the BBC she had been in direct contact with the families of at least a dozen of Clarke’s potential victims.

“The families that are approaching us are so angry and so hurt,” she said. “He was in a position of trust and that has been broken.

“Something horrific was happening at a school on our doorsteps and families are saying ‘we raised concerns’ but they were ignored.

“Someone needs to be held accountable.”

Ms Golby founded the group in 2016 because she believed there was not enough support for parents of children with additional needs.

Her community campaigning led to her being selected as a baton bearer for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

But about the same time, the 43-year-old said she was having problems with her own children at Forest Oak, because of what she called unrelated safeguarding concerns.

She has now launched a petition, backed by cross-party councillors and a local MP, calling for families of young people who raise safeguarding issues to be more effectively supported.

It is also demanding more accountability when things go wrong, like in the case of Daniel Clarke.

“It paints a picture of systemic failure,” Ms Golby said.

“This needs investigating to find out why such a horrific man got away with what he did for such a long time when concerns were raised.”

Hazel Dawkins, a Labour representative on Solihull Council, has a daughter who attends Merstone.

Her child did not have contact with Clarke, but the mother said the case had brought her to tears due to the timespan of the offending and the fact some victims could be non-verbal.

“It’s horrific,” she said. “I can’t even bear to think what these parents are going through.”

Dawkins said the school and the council needed to “accept responsibility and seek to reassure parents”.

She called for an inquiry and strengthened policies to keep children safe.

The local politician has also been representing parents with unrelated concerns about bullying at the only other special school in the area, and claimed an “overhaul” was needed in Solihull’s overall provision.

“We’re seeing it over and over again with children being constantly failed,” she said.

Clarke is currently serving a prison sentence of seven years and six months after pleading guilty to sexual offences, although the attorney general’s office is reviewing that after claims it is too lenient.

He met his victims while working across the two schools, and through a role with a charity that organised activities for children with additional needs.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the mother of one victim had paid Clarke £3,500 for work as a personal assistant for her child, but had been left feeling like she had been “paying him to abuse her son”.

After Clarke’s arrest in October, police were said to have “moved extremely quickly, almost with unprecedented speed” to put the offender behind bars.

The court heard he is almost certain to face further charges, possibly against more than 81 victims.

A “complex and sensitive investigation” is understood to be continuing, with detectives in the process of “slowly and carefully” contacting the parents of young people Clarke might have had contact with.

But the court was told it was likely to be at least a year before further charges are brought and it could be 2027 before any potential trial begins.

Some parents believe this means more information should be shared with them now, but the school has declined to release any details due to the live investigation.

“They are keeping everything very quiet,” said a second anonymous mother.

“The letters they have sent out to parents don’t go into much explanation at all.”

Alfie Ford, a former Forest Oak pupil, was not targeted by Clarke but said he was “shocked, disappointed and angry” as he previously interacted with the teaching assistant most days.

The 19-year-old, who is now a town councillor and disability awareness campaigner, left the school in 2023.

He also believes bosses should be sharing more information with former parents and pupils about Clarke following his conviction.

“He would have known nearly every child,” Mr Ford said. “You would never have known he was that sort of person.

“You would think he was there for you and he would care for you. I wonder if that may have been a trick of his.”

The former student recalled Clarke wearing tracksuits to work and a school emblazoned jacket, and said he appeared a normal member of staff.

Mr Ford suggested the teaching assistant had taken advantage of his knowledge of autism to “betray the trust” of pupils, and said the school had questions to answer.

“There are so many ways this should have been stopped from happening,” he added. “[It] needs to be looked at.”

Solihull Council’s efforts to keep children safe have been under widespread scrutiny in recent years following a number of high profile incidents, including the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in 2020.

But Multiple Ofsted reports, including one released this month, have suggested children’s services are improving from a previous rating of inadequate.

A Solihull Council spokesperson said: “We take the safeguarding of children with the utmost seriousness.

“Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the horrific actions of Clarke and we are pleased that he is now behind bars, unable to prey on further potential victims.

“As soon as the council was made aware of concerns about Clarke, we immediately took action to investigate the allegations, which involved contacting the police and this led to his arrest.

“We understand that in difficult circumstances such as this, people want to know more.

“However, West Midlands Police stated that information cannot be disclosed due to the complex nature of their investigation, which remains ongoing.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC’s Action Line.