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Abuse Allegations - Goddard Inquiry

on Thursday, 10 September 2015.

Dealing with abuse allegations is fast becoming one of the biggest issues facing independent schools. Such allegations can result in reputational damage, claims for compensation and often takes up significant management time and resources.

If dealing with police and regulatory investigations, reporting obligations and requests for disclosure arising from such allegations was not enough, schools now need to be mindful of the terms and potential impact of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (the Inquiry).

After a few false starts, the independent Inquiry now chaired by Hon. Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand High Court Judge, was finally established in March 2015. Full details of the scope and terms of reference of the Inquiry can be found at www.csa-inquiry.independent.gov.uk/.

It is a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 and has powers to compel schools to co-operate and witnesses to give evidence.

The purpose of the Inquiry is stated to be to'consider the extent to which state and non-state institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation; to consider the extent to which those failings have since been addressed; to identify further action needed to address any failings identified; to consider the steps which it is necessary for state and non-state institutions to take in order to protect children from such abuse in the future; and to publish a report with recommendations.'

The Inquiry covers England and Wales only and specifically includes independent schools. It has no cut-off date and will look into historic allegations.

Regular reports will be published from 2016 and an interim report will be published at the end of 2018. The Inquiry into the education and religion sectors will be led by Prof. Malcolm Evans OBE, a human rights academic.

The Inquiry is inviting anyone who was sexually abused as a child in an institutional setting or who was sexually abused as a child and reported the abuse to a person in authority (such as a teacher) to make contact via their website as part of the Truth Project. It is therefore almost inevitable that further allegations will come to light as a result of the Inquiry.

Further, any school that has already featured in the press in relation to sexual abuse could well be approached by the Inquiry.

Goddard has also issued a 'call to arms' and urges everyone to'take a proactive stance towards the Inquiry - to review your files, records and procedures voluntarily and to take the initiative to self-report instances of institutional failure - rather than waiting for us to come and see you.'

Retention of Documents

Goddard has also issued a warning to all organisations to retain all documents which may be relevant to the Inquiry in order to ensure that no line of investigation is curtailed by the premature destruction of files or records which may later be required as evidence.

This request is incredibly wide and could cover both current and historic pupil and staff records held by schools, and relates to all information, however held pertaining directly or indirectly to 'the sexual abuse of children or to child protection and care' and includes information which relates:

  • to allegations (substantiated or not) of organisations and individuals who may have been involved in, or have knowledge of child sexual abuse or child sexual exploitation
  • to allegations (substantiated or not) of individuals having engaged in sexual activity with, or having a sexual interest in children
  • institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse or other exploitation

Many schools will have a rolling document destruction policy, and could therefore be unwittingly destroying documents which may later be considered to be relevant to the Inquiry, particularly if they are unaware of historic allegations.

If schools do destroy relevant information, at best this could be reputationally damaging and lead to allegations of a 'cover-up' and at worst could constitute a criminal offence.

What should schools do?

We recommend that schools:

  • keep a watching brief on the Inquiry, even if your school has not yet faced a claim or allegation, as it is likely to have a wide ranging impact across the sector
  • review your data retention/destruction policies with a view to retaining staff and pupil records for the course of the Inquiry
  • proactively review your files, records and procedures to identify any possible failings in order to consider whether a self-report should be made
  • for those who are already aware of relevant allegations, claims or investigations Schools should take legal advice and liaise with insurers as to whether it is appropriate to make a proactive report to the Inquiry regarding any 'institutional failings'. The decision as to whether to self-report will require a risk-benefit analysis and careful consideration of the specific circumstances in each case.
  • review insurance arrangements to ensure that you have a record of your public liability insurers and that current insurance would cover dealing with issues arising from involvement in the Inquiry, such as regulatory action, crisis management and/or PR advice
  • ensure that you are prepared for contact from the Inquiry, potential victims, the police and/or the press
  • review your current safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that they are compliant

If you would like further advice relating to abuse allegations or any aspect of the Inquiry, please contact our Independent Schools specialists Tabitha Cave on 0117 3145381 or Natalie Wargent on 0117 3145433.