Parents demand answers over teacher’s links to convicted sex offender at Scottish school
“We didn’t know anything about anything until an email came out on a Thursday afternoon from school that stated that they were aware of information that was on social media about a member of staff and that they weren’t going to comment about individual members of staff”.
“So obviously the first thing you do is go on and look at social media and do a search for things, and it all comes up. And because we didn’t have any information, our initial response was to not send the kids to school the next day.”
Lucy Jess’s husband Patrick Jess was found guilty last year of sexually assaulting four university students - the offences did not relate to children.
A group of five parents has repeatedly contacted the school and Fife Council, asking for urgent clarity on their safety concerns.
“We weren’t sending the kids into school until we were given assurances that this person was not able to come to the primary school, until we had some assurances about safety within the school grounds,” Stephanie continued.
“The headteacher did say that an agreement was in place that that would never happen. So we did appreciate the phone call because it did put our minds at ease, and we sent the kids back to the school on the Monday. But the lack of information continued. There was no response from Fife Council.”
Several parents told LBC the situation was exacerbated by the discovery that Mrs Jess had previously been forced to apologise to parents at another school she worked at, after recommending and providing copies of a book written by a sex offender.
Eppie Sprung was placed on the register after having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old pupil. Her book Here, With You was described as a text aimed at helping families discuss a parent’s conviction.
“She was giving out this book at the last primary school she’s at,” Bella told LBC. “What other things does she have discretion to do that are framing and shaping our children’s minds and beliefs about what’s right and about what’s wrong?”
One mum, Laura, did receive a response from Fife Council after asking what extra safeguarding checks were carried out before the teacher’s appointment.
“It was a generic email,” she said. “It basically said that they can’t comment on personal matters. All they can say is that they’ve been PVG registered and safeguarded and that there was extra measures put in place, but they couldn’t list the extra measures and they wouldn’t list them.
“Not for one second did I feel that I had been listened to. It just made me a bit more angry, if I’m honest, the fact that they weren’t willing to answer. It just makes your mind kind of work overtime. You think, well, why are they not answering these questions, what else is happening in the background that they’re not wanting you to know? They’re just shutting down the question straight away.”
The response left another mother with more questions.
“They need to understand where our worries are coming from,” Millie said. “Are the police involved with this as well? Who’s the ones that are making these decisions? Is it Fife Council going off their own back? Are they being led by the police? Or is it because the police actually now need to be involved as well?”
The biggest issue for all five parents is potential access to sensitive information.
“Teachers can work from home now,” Scott told LBC. “They can start to take personal information about your children out of that environment, which we have always undoubtedly thought was safe, and into another environment. We don’t know what measures are in place to prevent things like indirect access, people seeing screens, people overhearing conversations.
“Your child can be a link away from a sexual offender and you know nothing about it. You don’t know anything about the safeguarding measures, all of the details that would need to be in place to prevent that. You wouldn’t know anything about it - there’s no obligation to tell.”
Weeks after the information about the deputy headteacher came to light, these parents want to be clear: this isn’t a witch hunt.
“I don’t think that we should be judging people or convicting people of their spouse’s crimes,” Scott said. “But I think for me a big thing is that it just opens up the fact that a teacher can live with a convicted sexual criminal. It’s not something you would ever consider before. I think that’s something that parents need to know just generally, because I think it makes you change kind of how you approach a lot of decisions, like the amount of information you’d share with the school or photo permissions.”
“It’s not a witch hunt whatsoever,” Laura said. “We just want answers. We just want to make sure that our kids are safe. By her standing by her husband, that is her making a choice. I have got the choice to make my child safe.”
Stephanie agrees: “I don’t think this is a witch hunt about one person,” she said. “This is the safety of our children, and [Fife Council] can’t come out and give us reasons as to why we should trust them in policing this, safeguarding this.”
Fife Council said: "We always put the safety and wellbeing of children and young people first, and we have robust safeguarding, recruitment and employment processes in place across all our schools.
"As a responsible employer, we do not comment publicly on the circumstances of individual employees. This includes matters relating to recruitment, employment history, performance, conduct, health, welfare or any support arrangements that may be in place for a member of staff.
"All teachers employed by Fife Council must be appropriately qualified, registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and meet all statutory requirements for their role, including PVG and other safeguarding checks where required. Recruitment and employment decisions are made in line with national and local policies, procedures and employment law.
"Statutory safeguarding checks form one part of the recruitment process. Wider professional standards, qualifications, experience, registration requirements and suitability for a role are considered through established recruitment and employment procedures. However, we are unable to discuss any assessment or consideration relating to an individual employee.
"We will not comment on whether any specific support arrangements, management measures or other employment-related processes are in place for an individual member of staff, as these are confidential personnel matters. Any such arrangements would be managed in line with our HR policies and procedures.
"We recognise that parents and carers may have questions regarding staffing matters. However, we must balance the school community’s desire for information with our legal responsibilities around confidentiality, data protection and employee privacy. Staffing changes are reported through established school communication channels, including newsletters and direct messages to parents and carers. We continue to engage directly with school communities and respond to concerns raised with us.
"In relation to pupils’ personal data, all Fife Council employees are required to comply with the council’s information governance, data protection and ICT security policies. Staff receive guidance on the secure handling, storage and use of personal information, whether working within school premises or remotely. Appropriate technical, organisational and procedural measures are in place to protect personal data and ensure compliance with data protection legislation.
We remain committed to ensuring all our schools are safe, supportive environments for children and young people and to working constructively with parents and carers when concerns are raised."
Lucy Jess has been approached for comment.
Deputy Editor
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
