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So far Mandate Now has created 141 blog entries.

Michael Gove : ‘Victim of abuse made a ‘compelling’ case for mandatory reporting’

Having met Mr Gove on 27th February 14 and presented the case for Mandatory Reporting, Tom returned to Portcullis House and met with Tom Watson MP to discuss the importance of this legislation to a functioning child (and vulnerable adult) protection system.

Seven weeks later in topical questions to the Secretary of State for Education, Tom Watson asked about research into mandatory reporting which elicited a very positive reply from Mr Gove about the principle of mandatory reporting in Regulated Activities.

You can see Mr Gove’s reply here and this Times article appeared following their exchange in the House.

March 24th, 2014|

Tom Watson MP questions Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove about Mandatory Reporting

Tom Watson MP, a supporter of Mandatory Reporting in Regulated Activities, made a statement in the House about the appalling safeguarding failures at Stanbridge Earls School in Hampshire and asked: “Will Ministers now urgently consider adequate research into the funding of mandatory reporting in regulated settings?”

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-03-24b.17.0#g18.3

Mr Gove replied: “I have had the opportunity, in a different context, to talk to one victim of abuse who, I have to say, made a compelling case for mandatory reporting in a regulated setting.”

On the 25th March the St Pauls + Colet Court child abuse case was reported in the Times and this article which you can read in full here, accompanied the piece.

gove

March 24th, 2014|

Cheryl Gillan MP secures a meeting for Mandate Now with Michael Gove

Just a few days after the sentencing of Peter Wright, the former Headmaster of Caldicott School, at Amersham Crown Court on 6/2/14, Cheryl Gillan MP secures a meeting between Tom and the Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove. Hansard: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-02-10b.555.5#g560.6

February 10th, 2014|

Cheryl Gillan MP secures a meeting for Mandate Now with Michael Gove

Cheryl Gillan MP Chesham + Amersham and a signatory to our petition asked Mr Gove the following question:

‘The Secretary of State will be aware of the sentence handed out in Amersham Crown court last week to the former head teacher of the Caldicott preparatory school after years of abuse of children in his care. Will the Secretary of State join me in paying tribute to my constituent Mr Tom Perry, who was brave enough to speak out about his own abuse? Will he agree to meet Mr Perry and me to discuss the possibility of mandatory reporting, as Mr Perry believes it would better protect our children in the future?’ Mr Gove’s reply is in the link: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-02-10b.555.5#g560.6

The meeting with the Secretary of State occurred just 17 days later at the Department of Education.

February 10th, 2014|

Ian Lee of BBC Three Counties Radio discusses the Wright trial (Caldicott School) with Tom

Mandatory Reporting is essential in order to provide greater likelihood that child sexual abuse disasters such as Caldicott School are avoided. Tom speaks to Ian Lee at BBC Three Counties Radio the morning after sentencing of Peter Wright:

February 7th, 2014|

Press Release

“Schools are no safer now than they were 50 years ago”, say Caldicott abuse survivors.

Download
February 6th, 2014|

Caldicott School – Trials and Outcomes

Two days before the sentencing hearing of Peter Wright, the former headmaster of Caldicott School, Tom was interviewed by Jon Snow who asked about the dynamics of abuse and the progress on Mandatory Reporting. During the time Tom was in the Channel4 studio Hugh Henry who had abused pupils at Gayhurst school in Gerrards Cross as well as Caldicott and who featured on the same indictment as Wright, committed suicide by stepping onto the railway tracks at Amersham.

The Wright case finally permitted reporting restrictions to be lifted and the scale of abuse at Caldicott started to see daylight. There were other teachers against whom complaints were made, many were by then dead. This included Peter Hill the former Deputy Head to Wright, who committed suicide some years before Wright was first charged.

Here is a chronology of court appearances, indictments, and outcomes:

Trials Chron

  1. See the marvellous article by Peter O’Brian in the Toronto Globe and also his excellent interview on CBC
  2. Complainants in the Geddes case came forward following the broadcast of the documentary Chosen
  3. Complainants in the Addrison case came forward following the broadcast of the documentary Chosen
  4. Complainants in Wright trails 1 + 2 came forward following the broadcast of the documentary Chosen
  5. Each of the five complainants in the 2003 indictment gave evidence of bad character in both Trial 1 + 2 of Wright
  6. See photo below this picture and link to CPS

Whenever an inquiry starts one can expect only to bring a proportion of perpetrators to court. And so it was with Caldicott.  Following the broadcast of ‘Chosen,’ a number of former pupils complained of sexual abuse by former Deputy Head George Hill who committed suicide some time before Wright was first charged in 2003. It is speculated sight loss contributed to his decision.

Restriction applied for large periods of time. Men silenced for decades where silenced once again. Reporting restrictions on the the cases of Addrison and Geddes and Henry applied until Wright’s conviction.  Finally the Caldicott cases were reported:

Wright Conviction Times

Here is the interview with Jon Snow.

Tom on C4 News QT from True Vision on Vimeo.

The Caldicott case which was reported extensively by Andrew Norfolk of the Times, seemed to be the catalyst for what followed. Just a few weeks later this article appeared, and many more followed.

times-splash-130-schools        Closed worlds Times 200214

You can read more articles about the trials and see the documentary that assisted get the cases to court here 

February 6th, 2014|

The Mandate Now Response to: NSPCC policy position against Mandatory Reporting

Under increasing pressure from our sustained campaign for the introduction of Mandatory Reporting the NSPCC felt the need to clarify its firmly held position against mandatory reporting which you can see here. 

January 13th, 2014|

CEOP Thematic Assessment The Foundations of Abuse: A thematic assessment of the risk of CSA by adults in institutions

CEOP Thematic Assessment  The Foundations of Abuse | Paragraph 87 : It may be necessary to ensure those working in any capacity in institutional settings come forward around safeguarding issues via some form of mandatory reporting.

October 16th, 2013|

Home Affairs Committee: CSE and the response to localised grooming

The Home Affairs Committee report: Child Sexual Exploitation and Grooming Report suggested  Mandatory Reporting be considered – Paragraph 130:

‘We recommend that the Government commission work to examine the feasibility of introducing a  statutory duty to co-operate and share information to tackle child sexual exploitation. We also recommend that the Government examine the Florida Protection of Vulnerable Persons Act passed in 2012 in order to ascertain whether the mandatory reporting of child abuse could, and should, be implemented in England and Wales.’

You can read the full report here.

The Government did not undertake a feasibility, instead it undertook a public consultation which was designed to achieve one outcome – rejection of MR by respondents. which it achieved.

June 10th, 2013|