The school responds to the verdicts

[richardb]

A fairly predictable response from the school:

https://www.christs-hospital.org.uk/chr ... 202018.pdf


Dear Old Blues,
As you may be aware, two former members of Christ’s Hospital staff – Andrew Husband and Gary Dobbie - were today convicted at Hove Crown Court. Andrew Husband was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault and one count of rape against a female pupil between 1990 and 1994. Gary Dobbie was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault, two counts of indecency with a child and one count of attempted indecent assault on male and female pupils between 1989 and 2001.
The convictions of these men followed those of Peter Webb, Peter Burr and Ajaz Karim in recent months. Ajaz Karim is due to be sentenced on 3 August. We await confirmation of sentencing dates for Andrew Husband and Gary Dobbie.
Over the last year or so, we have written to you on a number of occasions to keep you updated on proceedings. The restrictions on what we were able to communicate proved challenging at times: sub judice laws meant that we could only share the facts of each case, rather than the fuller perspective that can be offered now that the trials have concluded.
We do not wish to expend any thoughts on the individuals themselves, other than to say that their actions were not only criminal but also an utter betrayal of the trust placed in them and of the values of Christ’s Hospital.
Instead, we would reiterate our profound sadness at the suffering of the former pupils who brought these men to justice. On behalf of the School and the Council of Christ’s Hospital, we are deeply sorry for what they went through during their formative years. We recognise that, for some, these incidents will have had a lasting influence on their adult lives. The impact can only have been compounded by the fact that some former pupils were compelled to attend court and undergo cross-examination because three out of the five men denied their offences; this must have been very difficult. Their courage and strength is truly humbling and we hope that the knowledge of these convictions will be of some help to them as they move forward from today.
During this time, we have been contacted by a number of Old Blues who have, understandably, sought reassurance that these offences could not occur today.
One of the main purposes of our continued communication with you is to try and provide this reassurance. Today, the wellbeing of our pupils and our wider responsibility to other young people is our primary concern and is always given the utmost priority. From a safeguarding perspective, the Christ’s Hospital of today is worlds apart from the Christ’s Hospital described in the various court hearings. We deploy a range of measures to ensure that the safety and happiness of our pupils are at the centre of all we do: all staff, both teaching and support, and all Council Members, receive regular child protection training; appropriate and clearly-defined boundaries exist between staff and pupils; a framework of safeguarding procedures is effective across all houses and departments; and our dedicated safeguarding and welfare teams maintain strong links with local statutory agencies to ensure that our decision-making and reporting practices are appropriate and compliant. Anyone seeking further information about our child protection and safeguarding procedures can read our policy here or contact the Headmaster directly.
While these measures and others are reflected in recent inspection reports, these cases have served as a brutal reminder that there is no room for complacency. That begins, we believe, with a recognition that the survivors of the recent cases may not have been the only people to have suffered abuse during their time at the School. We would encourage anyone else in that situation to come forward if they feel able to do so. A report can be made in a number of ways:
 Our dedicated email address – safeguarding@christs-hospital.org.uk – which is staffed by a small team of specialists who can respond to your concerns or pass them on to the relevant authorities. All approaches will be dealt with sympathetically and in complete confidence.  Sussex police can be reached on 01273 470101.  There are a number of organisations providing support for victims of child sexual abuse including NAPAC (the National Association of People Abused in Childhood) on 0808 801 0331 and the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
We also recognise that there may be other Old Blues who had been affected by these events, even if they were not themselves victims. If there is any way in which you believe we can help or support you, please do be in touch with the safeguarding team or with the Headmaster.
The School has followed the court proceedings very closely. Learning from the experiences of those affected can only help refine our continued commitment to ensuring that time spent at Christ’s Hospital is a safe, happy and fulfilling one for every pupil.
Kind regards,
Simon Reid Guy Perricone Headmaster Treasurer and Chairman of the Council

[J.R.]

I have yet to receive this e-mail.

[richardb]

Nor me but a link was posted on Facebook.