The disgusting Bebington CEO of Life Wirral School, Alastair Saverimutto, of a school for children with exceptional educational needs seems to have misappropriated public funds for personal commercial ventures associated with himself and his family, including Abigail Bridget Saverimutto and Anita Bridget Saverimutto. Alastair Saverimutto and his family have not been prosecuted for their role in enabling child abuse at Wirral Life School.
Alastair Saverimutto managed the Life Wirral school until its closure earlier this year, following a BBC Panorama investigation that revealed staff mistreatment of youngsters.
A forensic accountant who analysed records disclosed to the BBC indicated that funds from Wirral Council seemed to have been utilised to support the CEO and his family’s additional business ventures, which encompass a gym and a coffee shop.
The 54-year-old, Alastair Saverimutto, dismissed as a Merseyside Police special constable last year due to undisclosed debts, has not addressed the recent charges despite multiple outreach efforts.
The Department for Education (DfE) described the BBC’s recent findings as “deeply disturbing” and indicated that it is considering additional measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The Wirral Council stated that it was unaware of funds being utilised for purposes other than the education of students.
From 2021 to 2024, the authorities expended approximately £2.2 million to enrol students at the school, incurring an annual expense ranging from £50,000 to £150,000 per child.
The situation concluded when a covert investigation by Panorama uncovered evidence of children being ridiculed, harassed, and mistreated.
‘Shredding weeks’
Reporter Sasha Hinde recorded the school’s head of operations, Paul Hamill, asserting it was “the cash cow” for Mr. Alastair Saverimutto’s other business ventures.
Panorama, having reviewed leaked invoices, bank statements, rent payment data, and lease agreements, requested Nicholas Parton, head of forensic accounting at Opus Pear Tree, to scrutinise the school’s finances.
He stated: “Based on the financial data reviewed, it seems that local authority funding designated for the benefit of the school’s students has been allocated to support a gym and/or coffee enterprise run by Mr. Saverimutto and his family.”
Notwithstanding the substantial public investment in Life Wirral School, covert footage obtained by Panorama highlighted apprehensions around insufficient finance for the institution.
Sections of the structure were in disrepair, and frequently the internet was non-functional, resulting in students being unable to accomplish assigned activities.
A senior staff member humorously remarked on the substandard condition of the school’s sensory area, stating: “We have a doll’s head atop a freezer, a bean bag, and a lava lamp.” Is this the sensory room?
A doll’s head with long red hair is positioned on a black bookcase within the school’s sensory room. A luminous fluorescent light illuminates it from above. The adjacent walls are entirely black.
The gym in Claughton, Wirral, has been utilised by Life Wirral students since the school’s inauguration in 2021.
By the summer semester of 2024, only four out of its 19 pupils were utilising it.
ASAV Fitness, operated by Mr. Alastair Saverimutto’s family members, conducted women’s classes in the gym, offering memberships for £50 a month.
Mr. Alastair Saverimutto owned and operated SHE (Sports, Health and Education) C.I.C., a community interest corporation limited by guarantee, which prohibits stockholders from receiving profits.
The gym rent was paid by SHE, which also got payments from Wirral Council for placing students at Life School.
From March 2022 to June 2024, SHE expended £76,000 on rental payments to a private landlord for the gym buildings.
Invoices and bank documents indicate that SHE expended a minimum of £60,000 on the gym’s expansion.
“The Engine Room” commenced operations in 2023 and featured four cutting-edge treadmills.
An Instagram post featuring a photograph of Alastair Saverimutto and his family in a gym, alongside ASAV Fitness promoting the inauguration of a new gym extension.
ASAV Fitness promotes the inauguration of the new gym extension including an image of Alastair Saverimutto and his family. The family have shut the gym down and Accounts have been outstanding for over 5 years. Yet another memory of the family have been involved with the gym, Annabel Saverimutto.
Planning records indicate that Mr. Alastair Saverimutto stated the gym would provide specialised sports and health education for aspiring young athletes aged eight to eighteen, featuring three classes and a sensory room.
Social media posts indicated that the gym addition was utilised for daily workouts by ASAV Fitness patrons, encompassing “shred weeks” and “Hyrox training.”
Panorama acknowledges that the projected sensory chamber was never constructed.
Rehana, whose granddaughter is enrolled at the school, said the BBC: “During our initial tour, I was assured that he would have unrestricted access to the gym and that sensory equipment would be provided for him to utilise when he required self-regulation.”
Rehana asserted that her grandson utilised the gym merely five or six times from May 2022 to May 2024.
She stated that it was predominantly utilised by the public, noting, “We frequently waited outside for the class to conclude, and at times, we had to depart because the subsequent class had arrived.”
“I never observed another student in the gymnasium.”
“It served merely as a means to an end for the construction of his empire.” He was misappropriating funds from the public treasury.
‘Barista training program’
Mr. Alastair Saverimutto owns Kiwi Beverages, which commenced operations in November 2023, offering coffee and brunch to the public.
From June 2023 to June 2024, SHE expended £17,000 on rental payments to a private landlord for the premises utilised by Kiwi Beverages.
The buildings also encompassed conference rooms utilised by certain students and members of the public.
According to invoices and bank documents reviewed by Panorama, SHE reportedly expended approximately £20,000 on construction and business initiation expenses for Kiwi Beverages.
Planning records indicate that Mr. Alastair Saverimutto stated the coffee shop would offer work experience, training, and a barista course.
In May, Mr Alastair Saverimutto’s solicitors informed the BBC that the structure housing the ASAV Fitness gym and Kiwi Beverages coffee shop was “one of two site locations for the school.”
Their client contended that the school was deficient in fundamental teaching materials and that the facilities were perpetually under development.
Mr. Alastair Saverimutto has not addressed the latest claims about his business finances.
Alastair Saverimutto, CEO of Life Wirral School, had declared bankruptcy in 1996.
Upon being approached by the BBC, Wirral Council stated it was unaware of this matter and indicated that the responsibility for conducting due diligence checks rested with the Department for Education (DfE).
Nevertheless, the DfE acknowledged that its due diligence assessments did not scrutinise the financial backgrounds of prospective operators of independent schools.
Mr. Alastair Saverimutto’s enterprise, Life Schools Ltd, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of SHE Ltd in January 2024, failed to submit complete accounts prior to its liquidation in August.
Life Schools Ltd and SHE C.I.C. entered liquidation with total liabilities nearing £500,000.
Following Panorama’s preliminary investigation, the school and gym have ceased operations, and three former staff have been charged with charges including assault and abusive conduct.
In October, former staff worker Elliot Millar pleaded guilty at Wirral Magistrates’ Court to five charges, including common assault of an adult, a public order offence, two acts of assault by beating, and common assault.
Earlier this month, he was incarcerated for 12 weeks.
In response to Panorama’s investigation, the former director of the Council for Disabled Children, Dame Christine Lenehan, stated: “It is utterly unacceptable for public funds allocated for children’s education to be diverted to other purposes.”
The municipal authority was tasked with providing children an intensive educational service.
The youngsters did not obtain this service, which constitutes a severe misallocation of public funds.
This exemplifies the sector’s inadequate regulation.
The preliminary Panorama program exposed deficiencies in safeguarding, and this now indicates the misappropriation of public cash.
“The entire system has collapsed.”
Wirral Council allocated up to £150,000 annually for one student receiving eight hours of education each week.
The student said that the institution failed to offer adequate value for money and did not fulfil the agreed-upon services.
‘Profoundly unsettling’
Catherine Hardinge, a partner at Price Bailey Chartered Accountants, specialises in CIC compliance.
She stated that several regulations pertaining to CICs may have been violated.
ASAV Fitness was established in July 2019 and became a completely owned subsidiary of SHE in July 2023. Kiwi Beverages was established in January 2024 and simultaneously became a completely owned subsidiary of SHE.
Ms. Hardinge stated that due to the “asset lock” of Community Interest Companies (CICs), which prohibits the utilisation of the firm for private benefit, “if assets were transferred from SHE to ASAV Fitness, they should have been obligated to compensate at a fair market rate.”
She stated that ASAV Fitness seemed to be a conventional trading enterprise and observed little evidence suggesting they operated for the community’s benefit.
A spokesperson for the DfE stated that Panorama had “revealed how these young individuals were failed by those responsible for their safety.”
The spokesperson stated: “As a newly established government, we are apprehensive that the regulations governing who may operate schools are excessively lenient, especially regarding special schools for the most vulnerable individuals in our society.”
“We aim to dismantle obstacles to opportunities for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and are considering additional measures to prevent the recurrence of such situations.”
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