Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Golfer wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 8:45 pm Of course I would have reported such crimes had I known of them.

As a good citizen or because in loco parentis you owe a duty of care?

Both?

I am genuinely, deeply and profoundly disturbed by all that I have read about your perception of safeguarding and the duty imposed on teachers, in particular in a boarding school environment.

I am gobsmacked.

I'll not reply further except to say that I am pretty good at safeguarding. My point was that Neil Fleming had been unfairly criticised IHMO.

Golfer wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:10 pm I'll not reply further except to say that I am pretty good at safeguarding. My point was that Neil Fleming had been unfairly criticised IHMO.

Presumably you have discussed it with him?

Golfer wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 8:45 pm Of course I would have reported such crimes had I known of them.

And if the senior members of staff didn’t take action?

You’re correct in that we don’t know what Fleming did with the information and that his is the only name that has made it into the press, making him the focus when perhaps the attention should be elsewhere. Fleming continued on at CH until retirement, implying that either he was satisfied with how things were handled or the cause of his dissatisfaction departed the school.

I think it might be a good idea to stop beating up on Tim Askew; it did strike me at the time that he was somewhat less institutionalised than many of his contemporaries, and he may have some useful points to make.

jakew wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:16 pm I think it might be a good idea to stop beating up on Tim Askew; it did strike me at the time that he was somewhat less institutionalised than many of his contemporaries, and he may have some useful points to make.

I intend to because he can't take things any further.

jakew wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:16 pm I think it might be a good idea to stop beating up on Tim Askew; it did strike me at the time that he was somewhat less institutionalised than many of his contemporaries, and he may have some useful points to make.

I wasn’t taught by Tim but I was taught by Vikki. To my immense sadness a quick bit of google-fu reveals she is no longer with us. I wasn’t going to reference the smattering of good teachers I had in this thread but i’ll make an exception. She was inspirationally good and I admired her immensely. RIP.

Thanks. The huge loss to the world has not yet been recognised on this forum. She was something else.

I had no idea either, I’m so sorry Tim. I wasn’t taught by Vikki but I wish I had been, her reputation was phenomenal.

I have very few memories of C.H. staff showing moral leadership but one of the few was Tim Askew getting righteously and appropriately angry with some anti Semitic comments made in class.
I have always valued that as a person of Jewish descent he was the only teacher I ever heard speak out against what was a routine slur at the school at the time.

There is a link to this thread in that Vikki became Head of History at CH after Andrew Husband had to leave.

Tim- I left as Poulton did so only knew the school under one Head. Did the attitude to safeguarding change under Southern?

I would say that the safeguarding revolution nationally has taken place in the last fifteen years after the Soham murders.