One of Britain’s leading Catholic schools, Ampleforth Abbey, has been stripped of its responsibility for pupil welfare at its college as a result of “continued concerns” over safeguarding risks to pupils.
The Charity Commission announced on Tuesday 3 April that it had appointed an interim manager to take control of key pupil welfare responsibilities at Ampleforth Abbey and the St Laurence Education trust which runs Ampleforth’s prep school, St Martin’s Ampleforth.
The commission said it had taken action because of “continued concerns about the extent to which current safeguarding risks to pupils at the schools run by the charities are being adequately managed. This included concerns about the charities’ compliance with established safeguarding procedures.”
In a statement posted on its website, Ampleforth Abbey said the appointment was a “precautionary measure.”
The commission has appointed Emma Moody from the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson to be the interim manager of both charities, giving her the powers and duties of a trustee over safeguarding-related matters.
Harvey Grenville, Head of Investigations and Enforcement at the Charity Commission, said: “It was of paramount importance that that beneficiaries, and others who come into contact with charities, are protected from harm. We are not satisfied that the trustees of these charities have made enough progress in improving the safeguarding environment for pupils in the schools connected to the charities.”
“For this reason, we have appointed an interim manager to expedite changes in the safeguarding arrangements at the schools.”
The appointment comes after the Charity Commission opened inquiries into Ampleforth Abbey and the St Laurence Education Trust in 2016 into their handling of allegations of child sexual abuse. A series of recommendations arising from the review were published in March 2017.
Responding to the Commission’s appointment, Ampleforth Abbey said “Emma and her team are in place to support and guide the trustees and to provide strategic leadership on matters relating to safeguarding, ensuring the charities have the proper framework to deliver their missions safely and appropriately.”
It is important “that all our beneficiaries are able to flourish and thrive, reaching their full potential, in a safe environment and protected from harm,” the statement added.
Last November, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) heard that multiple allegations of sexual abuse had been made against 40 monks and teachers at the North Yorkshire boarding school and Abbey. The claims spanned the past 60 years.
Since 1996, three monks and two lay teachers have been convicted of sex crimes against pupils who attended the schools between 1960 and 2010.
On the opening day of the IICSA hearing, Matthias Kelly QC, made a statement on behalf of Ampleforth expressing regret for past abuses.
“We wish to apologise for the hurt, distress and damage done to those who suffered abuse when in our care. We will do everything we can to ensure that there is no repetition," he told the inquiry.
PICTURE: File photo of Ampleforth Abbey
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