School names police probe monks

Seven Roman Catholic monks with links to a top public school have faced police investigation over child sex and pornography offences, the school has admitted.

In a letter to the parents of the 1,500 pupils at the £26,000-per-year Downside School in Somerset, Dom Aidan Bellenger, the Benedictine Abbot of Downside, apologised to parents and named some of the monks who were picked out by a criminal investigation looking at 50 years of confidential school records.

Of the seven monks from Downside, he said four had faced police action and two, against whom allegations "were founded" , had restrictions imposed on their ministry. The seventh was cleared and allowed to return to his monastic life.

The school has already announced a "major review of the school's governance" that would result in "significant changes" after a monk and former teacher at the school, Richard White, was jailed for five years on January 3 for sexually abusing two 12-year-old boys in the late 1980s.

His abuse was known about by monastic and school staff at the time but he evaded criminal charges for more than 20 years.

Richard White, a paedophile monk who abused two boys at a Roman Catholic public school

"We are truly sorry that children and young people have been abused by those whom they should have been able to trust," Dom Bellenger wrote.

"We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that such things do not happen again.

"We must never underestimate the great damage suffered by the victims of abuse. Their bravery in telling their stories has resulted in radical changes in the way safeguarding is approached. Victims of abuse are in our prayers and the sadness we feel for what they have suffered will be with us always.

"These unhappy events inevitably cast a long shadow, but your chief concern will of course be the welfare, security and happiness of children currently at Downside. Many steps have been taken to ensure that the Downside portrayed in some parts of the media is a thing of the past."

©Press Association

THINK-TANK BACKS MILITARY ACADEMIES

A network of schools run by the military should be introduced in Britain's most deprived areas to prevent youngsters turning into a new generation of rioters, according to a think-tank.

The military academies would draw upon the "unique technical and vocational expertise" of the armed forces and use it to address poor discipline and educational failure in problem neighbourhoods, ResPublica said.

In a report published today, the independent organisation calls on the Coalition to back a pilot scheme that will see 10 schools set up in "Neet blackspots" - where a large proportion of youngsters are not in education, employment or training - before rolling them out in all local education authorities.

It says: "Military academies would open up new opportunities for those lacking hope and aspiration; they would change the cultural and moral outlook of those currently engulfed by hopelessness and cynicism."

The report, named Military Academies - Tacking Disadvantage, Improving Ethos and Outcomes and Revitalising our Armed Forces, was compiled in the wake of last summer's riots.

It says two-thirds of young people involved in the disorder had some form of special educational need and more than a third had been excluded from school during 2009-10, laying bare the extent of educational failure in Britain's poorest communities.

According to the study, troubled youngsters will benefit from receiving pastoral care from those with a military background.

It adds that the academies will also help students into employment by forming partnerships with defence and other manufacturing firms that offer apprenticeships.

The authors also calls on the UK to adopt America's Troops to Teach scheme, a fast-track teacher training programme for military personnel which has helped over 9,500 veterans into the classroom in the US.

Phillip Blond, the founder of ResPublica, said: "Both Michael Gove and Nick Clegg have highlighted the value of military training. Mr Gove in calling for boot camps for expelled children and Nick Clegg's summer camps, but the Government must be much bolder.

"Why should the benefits of military discipline and training be limited to a handful of children excluded from mainstream schools, or just two weeks a year? If the Government is serious about harnessing the expertise and ethos of the armed forces, then they must be far more radical."


©Press Association

GOVE FACES LEGAL ACTION FROM SCHOOL

Education Secretary Michael Gove is facing legal action from a primary school whose supporters he branded "ideologues" for opposing academy status.

Lawyers representing the governing body of Downhills Primary, Haringey, north London, have sent a statement of claim to the Department for Education, claiming the Education Secretary is attempting to illegally force academy status on the school.

Mr Gove has a fortnight to respond to the claims or risks facing a judicial review into his decision.

Success for the school could stall the Government's plans to roll out the academy programme and make schools independent of local councils.

Downhills governor Roger Sahota told the Observer: "We are saying the secretary of state has acted unlawfully by forcing Downhills to become an academy and that action is premature in advance of the next Ofsted inspection.

"It is quite clear that the attainment records are improving and what they are doing is ideologically or politically motivated."

Headteacher Leslie Church told the newspaper: "I am neither for nor against academies. I think it is right for communities to decide what school they have.

"Therefore, if the drive to change all schools to academy status is something the Government wishes to pursue, I think that is something that should be put before the electorate as a manifesto.

"Outstanding schools are being encouraged into academy status, schools at the bottom end are being forced to become academies, so that leaves schools in the middle and basically my understanding is the financial viability of local authorities is left in the balance."

Mr Gove is facing legal action.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "Haringey's primary schools are the worst performing in inner London. This year, results went backwards - dropping below both the national and London average in English and maths.

"Similar local authorities in London, such as Hackney and Tower Hamlets, outperform them. It is vital that improvements are made quickly, which is why we are looking at academy sponsorship to turn around failing schools. We cannot simply stand by and let schools fail their pupils year after year.

"The department will respond to the school's letter in due course."

In a speech last week at a south-east London academy, Mr Gove said most local authorities were being "co-operative and constructive" but he said some were being "obstructive" in their approach.

The Education Secretary highlighted Haringey Council in his remarks, saying he had been asked "not to challenge" the leadership of the borough's lowest performing schools.

And in his speech he said: "They are more concerned with protecting old ways of working than helping the most disadvantaged children succeed in the future.

"Anyone who cares about social justice must want us to defeat these ideologues and liberate the next generation from a history of failure.

"In one of the most disadvantaged parts of our capital city, poor children have been deprived of the skills they need to succeed."


PA 2012