‘Catholic Eton’ in crisis as head quits over child protection fiasco
by Jules Gomes, Church Militant:
England’s most elite Catholic school is in meltdown after its recently appointed headteacher stepped down following an inspection report slamming the school for failing to meet child protection standards.
Deirdre Rowe quit after just 10 months as head of scandal-ridden Ampleforth College, making her the fourth headteacher in just over a year at the school once renowned as the “Catholic Eton.”
The Department for Education ordered the surprise inspection at the end of May to check if the school had made progress on issues identified in an earlier November visit, especially with regards to child protection or safeguarding.
The highly critical Progress Monitoring Visit found the school failing to meet standards for child protection, bullying, handling complaints, leadership, and behavior.
One of the most serious issues of child protection highlighted was the school’s failure to report urgently to the police a serious safeguarding issue that arose in December 2018.
“This advice was not followed,” states the report, even though the interim director of safeguarding had advised immediate referral to the police and the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children’s Board during a visit in November
The report also highlighted a case where the school provided a reference for a staff member but failed to include details of a formal warning given for reasons of child protection.
Members of the school’s senior leadership team came under fire in the report for failing to “identify and refer some safeguarding incidents to the local safeguarding board in a timely manner.”
“As a result, safeguarding practice has not always been secure,” the report stated.
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