School safeguarding failures prompt intervention threat

A serious case review (SCR) into the incident criticised Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne for failing to spot evidence of the teacher's misconduct, or to act on concerns raised by other pupils.

In a letter to East Sussex County Council, Timpson said he had "serious concerns" over "failures in safeguarding" at the school, describing it as an "abrogation of leadership".

"The SCR reveals systematic flaws in child protection at the school, amid a culture which repeatedly ignored inappropriate adult behaviour, while blaming the child and offering unsuitable advice to her," the letter said.

Timpson goes on to call for assurances from the council that changes being implemented by the school to tackle the failures identified have led to an improvement in safeguarding practice.

And he warns that the government could intervene in the running of the school unless it is satisfied that appropriate action has been taken.

"I remind you of the powers of the Secretary of State to intervene directly in the governance of schools; and I expressly reserve those powers, in this case, while I await your swift responses to the questions above," the letter added.

The SCR found that staff at the school repeatedly failed to see the evidence of the teacher's misconduct or hear concerns raised by pupils.

It said that the school appeared to have a "default position" of supporting a colleague, with staff reluctant to believe that he might be an abuser.

Meanwhile, it was found that the pupil was not spoken to privately or talked to in a supportive way that could have given her the chance to disclose the abuse at an earlier stage.

The review also states that initial enquiries by police should have been carried out by the police child protection team, and that children's social care services may have ended their involvement too speedily.

Cathie Pattison, chair of the East Sussex Local Safeguarding Children Board, said: "The report shows opportunities were missed to intervene sooner and more robustly.

"We need to do more to make sure established safeguarding procedures are followed correctly in schools, that records are kept when safeguarding concerns are raised, that young people are listened to and that families are involved when issues arise."

The teacher, 32-year-old Jeremy Forrest, was jailed in June for five and half years for abduction and having sex with the 15-year-old pupil.