Headteacher banned from classroom after girl had sex with three boys on school ski trip
A headteacher has been banned from the classroom after students allegedly slept with one another, took knives and stole alcohol, and were blackmailed into sex while on a school ski trip.
Justine Drury, 52, was principal at the CP Riverside School in Nottingham – which provides education for children with behaviour or social issues – at the time of the trip to Switzerland in 2017.
A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) misconduct panel heard that the 52-year-old organised the trip for 12 students, where “10 had special educational needs, eight were known to be sexually active, seven were known to have substance misuse problems and three had current justice system involvement”.
“In the panel’s view, certain pupils would have likely been identified as unsuitable for attending the ski trip if individual assessments had taken place.”
During the trip, one student had sex with two male pupils before a third “blackmailed” her into having sex with him after filming her.
The panel was also told about a second female student who allegedly had sex with a fellow pupil in exchange for £30.
Students also shoplifted from local stores, others broke into the hotel’s kitchen to steal alcohol and one individual was found with three large knives in their room.
The TRA said Drury failed to get parental consent for all of the attendees and “did not take sufficient steps to reduce the risk of inappropriate behaviour by pupils”.
She also allocated an accompanying adult to a room with a male pupil, which the panel heard was inappropriate.
Its report said: “The panel determined that any ordinary person would view the number of incidents that took place, including sexual activity, criminal activity and underage drinking, and the lack of measures Mrs Drury had in place to deal with such instances, to be completely unacceptable.”
She was found guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct”, and her prohibition order will be reviewed after five years.
Her prohibition order will be reviewed after five years.
The former head teacher did not turn up to the hearing and denied all allegations.
The panel noted that Drury “had a blatant disregard for her professional standards” and said it saw “no evidence to suggest that she has any remorse or that she has learnt from her errors”.
“[She] failed to put the interests of the school or pupils first and inhibited the effectiveness of measures, which could have taken place shortly after the incidents to safeguard the pupils,” it said.
“[Her] failure to disclose the full scope of the incidents, which took place on the trip, fell far below the ethical standards expected of a teacher, particularly given her status as a head teacher.”
CP Riverside School and the East Midlands Education Trust said in a joint statement: “When the allegations emerged following the residential ski trip in February 2017, the school worked with the police and the local authority designated officer, participating fully in their investigations and carrying out an investigation of its own.
“Ms Drury left the school in July 2017. East Midlands Education Trust supported the school’s leadership between March 2017 and February 2018 before the school joined the Trust in March 2018.
“The school seeks to reassure all parents and carers of students in our care that we take our safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously, hence the action taken at the time.”