Publication of Reports into Chetham’s by ISI and MCC – Senior Management and Governors should consider their position

isireport

mccreport

The reports by the Independent Schools Inspectorate and Manchester City Council on Chetham’s School of Music, prepared in the wake of the conviction of Michael Brewer and publication of wider alarming allegations of widespread abuse at the school, have now been published – they are both attached to this blog post. See also the reports in the Manchester Evening News and The Guardian as well as a discussion on the blog of Norman Lebrecht. The response from Chetham’s is here.

The situation they describe is grave: I quote the following from the ISI report:

On Child protection policy generally:
Discussions with staff indicated that not all are clear about the process to be followed when concerns are reported or allegations made, and the procedures specified by the school are not always implemented in practice – for example, the safeguarding concerns form is not always completed and informal discussions are held instead.

On Child Inspection regulatory requirements:
At the time of the inspection visit, the school’s child protection policy was found to cover most of the requirements which are the duties of proprietors of independent schools. However, the school’s written policy is not suitably comprehensive and has not been properly implemented.

And from the MCC report:

Section 4.1 (b) (viii)
No evidence was provided of any formal, minuted governing body/school committee meetings called so that leaders and governors could reflect on the implications of recent allegations in connection with the school, carry out appropriate scrutiny, audit and self evaluation and consider the need to conduct a comprehensive review of current safeguarding policies, procedures and practice;

6.4 It is our view that in similar circumstances, in a state-maintained school setting, the nature of these findings, including the current context referred to in 6.1 above, would lead us to invite the chair of governors or trustees to a formal review meeting to discuss the capacity for governance and senior leadership to address the failings identified.

On Chetham’s website, they say the following, defensively:

Unfortunately we believe the time allowed for the Review was insufficient. We have made detailed written representations and submitted further documentation to both MCS and the ISI, seeking meetings with both organisations to discuss these points in detail. There is enormous interest in the School at the current time and it is imperative that Chetham’s, and all students, staff and parents associated with it, are treated and represented accurately.

In addition to further dialogue with the ISI and MCS, we will be seeking a meeting with the Department for Education to discuss the Review’s findings and share a detailed action plan to demonstrate how we are remedying the issues highlighted.

Much of what is detailed in the reports concurs with what I have heard from a variety of parents and recent pupils; and there are plenty of allegations suggesting that there have been dire consequences of these inadequacies. I can also disclose the following statement from the Department of Education (forwarded to me by Ciaran Jenkins of Channel 4 News and reproduced with permission) following these reports:

“Schools have a legal and moral duty to protect children in their care. It is clear from the Independent Schools Inspectorate and Manchester City Council’s reports of their joint visit that the standard of care at Chethams school must be improved.

“Chethams now has until May to produce the action plan — if the plan is inadequate the Education Secretary has powers to remove the school from the register of independent schools.”

The Senior Management and Governorship of Chetham’s have not reacted appropriately to the grave situation affecting the school at present, nor to very real concerns about safeguarding and pastoral care. It is time for them to consider their position carefully, in order for the future of the school to be protected.

This latter call is backed by the following:
David Angel
James Banbury
Fenella Barton
Adam Bell
Penelope Bisby
Ruth Boulton, nee Butler
Rebecca Brand
Harvey John Brown
Catherine Bullock
Joss Campbell
Rebecca Chambers
Rachel Chen
Bill Connor
Helen Cooke
Gillian Crow
Simon Crow
Joanna Debenham
Lindsay Edkins
Sharon Haslam
Alistair Hinton
Michal Kaznowski
George King
Jacob Lund
Maxine Molin Rose
Alison Moncrieff-Kelly
George Nicholson
David Owen
Martin Roscoe
Sue Ross
Rick Standley
Laurie Stras
Victoria Walker
Karin Wanambwa
Andrea Wyatt
Julie Wynne.

Anyone else wishing to support this call, please either leave a message here or e-mail me at ian@ianpace.com, and I will add your name to the list. This list of signatories will also be sent to the DfE after the end of May 2013, alongside the main petition calling for an inquiry.

Greater Manchester Police are conducting an investigation into a variety of complaints of sexual abuse related to Chetham’s School of Music and a dedicated Operation called “Kiso” has been established to support this. As an organisation, we recognise that reporting sexual abuse, which occurred some time ago is an incredibly difficult thing to do and we will afford anyone who comes forward, all the appropriate support to discuss events in their own time. We would urge anyone who wishes to report abuse or with information, to contact Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 6777 or via email, op.kiso@gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, persons who wish to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 .