Frances Akinde, a former head teacher, has spoken out following the death of Isaac Uzoegbu, a 16-year-old autistic boy who was hit by a car after running into the road outside his home in Gillingham, Kent, just after Christmas two years ago. Isaac’s parents were struggling to manage as his behaviour became increasingly out of control. Mrs Akinde, the head teacher of Isaac’s special needs school at the time, said she believes his death could have been prevented if his local authority, Medway Council, had put in extra support for him. Experts have said that autistic children are far more likely to flee and put themselves in danger if they feel overwhelmed, and too often local authorities fail to recognise the risks and ways to manage a child’s behaviour.
Mrs Akinde contacted the BBC after reading about the dozens of autistic people who had died following serious failings in their care by their local health and social services across England and Wales. Of the 51 people identified, the deaths of two boys from the Kent and Medway area – Sammy Alban Stanley, 13, and 15-year-old Stefan Kluibenschadl – were highlighted. Both were autistic, both went to the same school, both were under the care of NHS Kent and Medway and both experienced serious failings in their care.
Mrs Akinde said the failings in Isaac’s care resembled those in Sammy’s death two years earlier. The coroner examining the deaths of Sammy Alban Stanley and Stefan Kluibenschadl warned of the risk of other fatalities. She said if children with complex needs were not given access to the care and treatment they needed, it was “predictable that a similar incident may arise”. Isaac’s family have given Mrs Akinde permission to tell Isaac’s story on their behalf.
Frances Akinde says Isaac’s behavior began to escalate in early September 2021, and the school was doing all it could to manage it. She says she was in regular contact with the local authority but, despite her pleas, little support came. Medway Council disputes this, saying it was not made aware of Isaac’s issues until late November. His family had adapted their small, terraced home, by changing the living room into a bedroom and living area for Isaac – to give him more space and to try to prevent him from feeling so overwhelmed.
The local council told the family to lock the door every night in case he ran away, as his behavior became more unpredictable and volatile. Mrs Akinde says they felt they tried everything they could. But their worst fears materialized after Isaac escaped barefoot and ran into the path of an oncoming car. He suffered major head injuries and died five days later. The coroner ruled that Isaac’s death was due to a road traffic collision.
Medway Council said it had acted promptly to provide direct support to the family, and it arranged an emergency review about Isaac’s future education after becoming aware of the former head teacher’s concerns. Alison Cannon, Kent and Medway’s chief nurse, said the loss of a child is traumatic and it took its statutory role very seriously, adding that it had “followed all national guidance and law”. Anne Longfield, the former children’s commissioner, said that having so many different organizations involved in a child’s care often means it is hard to find who was responsible after a tragedy
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