THE Hampshire special school at the centre of shocking sex abuse accusations is still failing to protect children properly, a damning report reveals today.

A major police investigation is underway at Stanbridge Earls School after two former pupils alleged they were sexually abused at the Romsey-based facility.

Former headteacher Peter Trythall stood down last month and was replaced by new interim head Maggie McMurray.

But the results of an emergency Ofsted inspection released today rule that “serious weaknesses” remain, despite the new head and staff there trying to turn things around.

The three day inspection was carried out on April 30 and it coincided with a Independent Schools Inspectorate inspection.

It reveals that children remain unsafe, staffing is inadequate, staff are not trained or experienced and there is a significant weakness in leadership.

Inspectors also found that a junior staff member had been left to care for 39 boys within a week of starting employment there despite only a brief overview of children's needs and risk assessments.

It followed another emergency inspection in January and a tribunal revealing a teenage girl faced abuse at the hands of another student having been groomed with an explicit text.

The school had discriminated against her because a number of staff had failed to tell her parents that she has complained about a pain in an intimate part of her body.