By Gavin Mackintosh-
The UK government has a major task of having to address the major failings and shortcomings in its education system, following the publication of its inquiry into child sex abuse in schools.
Its current safeguarding training, data-sharing, checks and sanctions in schools, is in need of transformation, a report into its child sexual abuse inquiry indicates, as shocked parents still coming to terms with the findings of the report published on Monday.
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Britain’s secondary education system, particularly its private schools, are one of the best in the world, but reports of child sex abuse both by peers and adults children are supposed to trust, is most troubling. It calls for more effective safeguards to ensure the harmonious and productive environment parents expect when they send their children to such schools.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s latest report on residential schools revealed many “deeply distressing cases of serious abuse” which went unnoticed or were not appropriately handled.
“Poor leadership frequently left staff unaware of how to respond to concerns about sexual abuse or too afraid of potential consequences to act,” IICSA chair , Professor Alexis Jay said.
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“Day and residential schools play a key role in keeping children safe from harm, but despite 20 years of enhanced focus on safeguarding they are not as safe for children as they should be. This must change.”
The investigation looked at residential specialist music schools and residential special schools, where children faced higher risks of sexual abuse, and went on to examine various other types of school, including day schools, where staff had been convicted of the sexual abuse of pupils, or where serious safeguarding concerns had arisen.
The first phase of the inquiry, with public hearings held during September and October 2019, focused on residential music schools, including Chetham’s School in Manchester, the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, and the Purcell School in Hertfordshire.
It also examined residential special schools, including Appletree School in Cumbria, Southlands School in Hampshire, and the Royal School Manchester.
The second phase looked at three mainstream schools where sexual abuse allegations had been raised, including a state school and a private boarding school.
The allegations were largely reported and investigated or responded to between 1990 and 2017, and related to incidents alleged to have taken place from the 1960s to 2014.
The report said: “In the specialist music schools examined, the power and influence of often revered and influential music teachers made some pupils even more vulnerable to being sexually abused by them.
“The reputations of both the musicians and the schools were often seen as more important than their victims and potential victims when allegations were made or concerns were raised.
“The response was similar when concerns were raised about well-liked and generally respected members of staff in other school contexts, in both the independent and state sectors.”
Reputation
The report revealed that staff and pupils were sometimes more concerned about preserving their reputation than protecting the interests of children, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has said. The report found boarding schools are the “ideal environment for grooming”, with pupils being more dependent on adults around them than in non-residential settings.
The report, which focused on abuse in residential schools in England and Wales, found that despite improvements to safeguarding over the last two decades, children continued to be sexually abused, in some cases by teachers who exploited their positions of trust.
And it warned that schools were not as safe for children as they should be and schools needed to accept “it could happen here”, and in the case of peer-to-peer abuse “it probably is happening here”.
The report into abuse at residential schools is the 19th produced by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA), and was set up to examine the extent to which institutions have failed to protect children in England and Wales from sexual abuse.
The inquiry heard evidence from five independent special schools, four fee-paying specialist music schools part-funded by government grants, an independent boarding school, and two state day schools – Headlands School in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and Hillside First School in Weston-super-Mare.
Its investigation into residential schools examined incidents of child sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviour between children and other safeguarding issues at 13 schools, and a further eight schools which have closed.
It included residential music schools like Chetham’s school of music in Manchester, as well as a number of residential special schools, where there have been numerous allegations of and convictions for child sexual abuse.
The report, published on Tuesday, said many of the schools responded inadequately to allegations, in some cases there was a culture which actively discouraged reporting, and too often headteachers found it “inconceivable” their staff could have committed such crimes.
Wide ranging reports of child sex abuse has rocked the education system in the UK, but the schools in which such abuses have been reported remain by far the minority of all schools in the country. Independent schools are expected to be especially safe
Teacher Nigel Leat had pleaded guilty in 2011 to 36 offences against young girls at Hillside First School, with a review finding his inappropriate conduct had been noted more than 30 times but effective action not taken.
At Buckingham council-maintained special school Stony Dean, previously largely residential, two heads of care were convicted of sexual offences in 2000 and 2005 – one involving his former school and the other involving four Stony Dean pupils.
The IICSA published wide-ranging recommendations, urging the DfE to respond within six months.
The report notes “considerable differences of approach” as there is no minimum content for safeguarding in the initial teacher training curriculum, and academy and independent teachers do not need to have trained to achieve qualified teacher status.
It also said there is no designated safeguarding lead qualification, despite the NSPCC warning the inquiry that it risked staff lacking the required knowledge. There is a similar lack of compulsory training for boarding school staff, or specific or additional training for staff working with children with special educational needs in mainstream or special schools. Weaknesses in teacher regulation were also highlighted by the report.
The Teaching Regulation Agency, which has the power to ban teachers over misconduct, should have its remit extended to cover all teaching assistants, learning support staff and cover supervisors.
Current TRA guidance for schools does not make clear enough that safeguarding omissions can be sufficiently serious to constitute misconduct.
The report stated: “This means that cases of serious incompetence leading to safeguarding failures and risking harm to a child may not be referred to the TRA.”
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