Vaughan is taking action against his former boarding school
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Vaughan was sent to a boarding school where he describes a culture of ‘toxic masculinity’ that was accepted as normal.
He knew there was no point reporting the bullying or the sexual abuse he suffered at school. There was no pastoral care and no one for children to turn to if they were upset.
Vaughan is diagnosed with autism. He felt lonely and isolated and was constantly bullied at school. Most of his friends were day pupils and when they went home he was frequently alone.
Vaughan comments that it was accepted that the older boys would physically abuse the younger children – there was a complete lack of pastoral care with no one for the pupils to talk to if they were troubled.
At first when Vaughan was bullied he reported it, but he gave up when he realised that no one was going to act to protect him. When another pupil, Fabian, started sexually abusing him, Vaughan says he knew there was no point in reporting this either.
One day he blurted out to his mum that he had been sexually abused, but she didn't know what to do or where to seek help from.
Vaughan has PTSD. He is confused about his sexuality and finds it hard to trust anyone.
He would like to see information and support available for the parents of children who have been sexually abused. He adds that communication between his school and his parents was very poor and he would like to see improvements in Ofsted processes for children to provide feedback on their experiences.
He would also like to see better provision of counselling. He would like therapy but has found it very difficult to access.
Vaughan is taking action against his former school for their failure to protect him from harm and abuse.