CHILD victims of trauma need more support from schools to help them develop, says a local father of three adopted children and charity adoption UK.

Father John from Warminster said giving schools an incentive to care for their most vulnerable would help adopted children.

He welcomes Ofsted's announcement that future school inspections will look at the personal development of children as well as their academic achievement.

John from Warminster has three children who he adopted aged 18 months, three and four and are now nine, 11 and 12. They were taught in school but later taken out and home educated.

The father was getting called into school up to eight times a week as his children struggled in the school setting. All three had experienced trauma as a child and two have now been diagnosed with autism.

He said: “It was a nightmare, the children would be screaming that they didn’t want to go to school because they hated it so much. And the teachers didn’t have training to help them.

“Schools don’t want children like this because they will not bring the results.

“Part of what Ofsted assesses should be children in care or adopted children and how the school helps them deal with trauma.

“Children who have been through neglect have an academic age and a social age. My children are learning and doing ok but as soon as they are in a position of stress their social age comes through and that is a big challenge.”

Setting out its proposals in the draft inspection framework published this month Ofsted said schools should “support learners to develop their character – including their resilience, confidence and independence – and help them know how to keep physically and mentally healthy.”

Adoption UK’s CEO Sue Armstrong Brown said: “Many schools with stellar exam results do a very bad job for their most vulnerable pupils. OFSTED’s new focus on the quality of education and personal development is really good news.

“There should be just as much value placed on the work that the best schools do to support those who have experienced trauma or have special needs and might not be exam high flyers, as those who find learning easy.

“Schools tell us they have little incentive to invest time and funds in supporting their most vulnerable students because of the obsession with academic results.”