Sixth formers at a special needs school have been "marginalised and forgotten", say parents, after they were moved to a primary school "unfit for purpose".
Little Heath School, in Hainault Road, has been hit with two days of protests by "extremely concerned and angry" parents and teachers, after teenagers at the sixth form were forced to move from the main site to nearby William Torbitt Primary School.
Students from year 12, 13 and 14 were moved to spare parts of the primary school, in Eastern Avenue, in response to an increase in need for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) places.
Parents from both schools were informed of the move in June, and work started in mid-July to adapt half of the building for extra needs.
The works were also to ensure it was completely separate from the primary school half, before term started again in September.
But Kathryn Wilkinson, mum of 17-year-old Alexander who attends Little Heath, felt that was "never going to be enough time" to make the school suitable.
She said: "Our sixth formers, who have been at the school for a very long time, are in routine - anything you know about autism is all about routine - they are now going to have to move [to William Torbitt Primary School].
"They started building in mid-July so it was never going to be enough time to convert half a building into a completely separate building that also has everything for disabilities there."
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There were "a plethora" of issues with the site when the Little Heath sixth formers went back to school on Monday (September 9), Kathryn claimed to the Recorder.
Both she and Ben Morris, the membership secretary for Redbridge National Education Union (NEU), said the building has no lifts and a promised hygiene room has not materialised.
It was also alleged that the toilets are mixed-gender, with female students having no access to sanitary bins and concerns raised over their size.
Kathryn said: "Our children are marginalised and forgotten by our governing bodies.
"How can a school open so unfit for purpose?"
Little Heath School was closed for two days on September 10 and 11 due to industrial action in relation to the move, and teachers picketed outside the school's main site.
Mr Morris claimed teachers arrived at the new William Torbitt site to find unmade flat-pack furniture - which they had to carry up the stairs and build themselves - no whiteboards in the classrooms, and no wifi.
Mr Morris said: "The staff feel very strongly that it's not properly set up for them at the beginning of the year for them to have the tools to do their job, which is educating the children."
He added that he hopes there will not be any need for further action.
"We hope that taking the action has given them [the school] a bit of time to sort things out and make them realise that they really need to talk to the union because our members talk to us about all the problems."
Colin Stewart, director of education and inclusion at Redbridge Council, told the parents and carers of William Torbitt Primary that the move was agreed due to primary age pupils' "numbers falling" across the borough, coupled with Little Heath pupils not having "enough space" on their original site.
In a letter sent in June which has been seen by the Recorder, Mr Stewart said: "We have been looking at how to best support Redbridge pupils who need to attend Little Heath Special School as we do not have enough space on the current school site.
"Working with the two schools, we chose this location because there is a lot of spare space available, and we can meet the needs by creating two separate schools on the site.
"We can invest in the facilities for students and staff so that we provide the places we need for Little Heath students, while investing in William Torbitt to support primary pupils education."
He added: "We will be able to get access to the site to make the changes and modifications we need so that the works are completed over the summer period."
A Redbridge Council spokesperson declined to comment on the specific claims made by Redbridge NEU that the school was "not properly set up".
However, they said that pupils at Little Heath's new sixth form site at William Torbitt Primary can access "excellent facilities" and "high-quality equipment".
They added: "Ensuring our pupils' and staff's safety and wellbeing has always been our top priority.
"As part of the work to relocate Little Heath, we have implemented comprehensive and robust safety measures during the construction.
"We're confident that these measures will ensure both schools can continue operating safely as they have been, with no risk to our pupils or staff."
They said the statement was made with the agreement of William Torbitt Primary School and Little Heath School, but the Recorder has contacted both schools for further comment.
Little Heath School declined to comment further.
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