Approved Schools/Borstals

[Twocky61]

When I was a lad aged 17 in 1978 I was resident at an adolescent unit Cleeve House in Gloucester. It was run by the then Gloucestershire Health Authority which like many hospitals nowadays has become a hospital trust. Cleeve House was to all intents & purposes an approved school

Anyway at Cleeve House, as stated in another thread, I ran away on a fortnightly basis and returned to Cleeve House by the police. Then I was in pyjama's for a week only to run away again when I had my clothes back

If anyone here was a resident at Cleeve House in the late 70's I'm Nick Attwell then living in Cinderford. I wont mention names of fellow residents as I am sure they have moved on in their lives & wouldn't want to be reminded of their days as resident of Cleeve House

Before Cleeve House I was resident at Kingswood Assessment in Bristol where I was sent to Cleeve House from

After Cleeve House I was I was resident at Blantyre House Detention Centre in Kent and then on to Rochester & Portland & Feltham Borstals before I went into the prison system (Borstal's are now Young Offender Institutions (YOI's)

Before all this I was resident age eleven at a children's unit run by the then Lancashire Area Health Authority

Anyway Approved Schools: Being approved you would think they are the better schools like Grammar Schools

[Arran]

Re: Approved Schools/Borstals

I'm in contact with a person who attended Kesgrave Hall School, near Ipswich, during the early 1990s. The school closed down over 20 years ago but it is currently involved in a child abuse and child sex offences investigation by the police. The person tells me that it was a nasty and aggressive place full of bullying and victimisation by the staff. A totally unsuitable place for a person like him although the academic standards were quite high. He holds a grievance towards one of the head teachers Michael Geoffrey Smith (who moved to Louth in Lincolnshire in 1992) because he is traumatised by him.

[Twocky61]

Re: Approved Schools/Borstals

One thing as punishment in children's homes Arran was the use of 'Pin Down' (mostly in Staffordshire) where a resident was locked in a cell like room bare of any furniture and bed for hours on end