St Annes Grammar School principals banned over pupil abuse case

The accused teacher was later convicted of sexual offences with a child, the Teaching Regulation Agency says

A couple who were principals at a grammar school have been banned from the profession after it was found they had delayed reporting claims that a pupil was being abused by a teacher.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said Sheila and Stephen Welsby, of St Annes College Grammar School in Lancashire, "breached safeguarding obligations" in the case in 2018.

A panel heard the accused teacher had told them that he loved the pupil.

The TRA recommended an indefinite ban.

The accused teacher, referred to as Individual X by the panel, was later convicted of sexual offences with a child, the professional conduct panel heard.

The independent school in Lytham St Annes, which can accommodate about 150 pupils between the age of two and 18, declined to comment.

In two separate conduct hearings, the panel found the married couple's misconduct amounted to both "unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute".

Mrs Welsby, 77, who was also the designated safeguarding lead, and Mr Welsby, 78, both failed to promptly report the allegations made in July 2018 to the local authority or the police, the panel heard.

'No empathy'

The panel said within two hours the couple, who both started teaching in 1967, had a meeting with Individual X and notified him of the claims.

It said that in the meeting, Individual X made various admissions including confirming when the communications with the victim, referred to as Pupil A, had started, and how he had hoped one day he and Pupil A could be together and that he loved her.

It was "plain from the nature of the admissions that there was an ongoing risk to Pupil A's welfare" and both Mr and Mrs Welsby had failed to have due regard to this, the panel said.

It also found they suggested reporting of the allegations might be delayed or that the actions might not be reported at all and failed "to share important information with the police".

Police were not informed of the admissions until September, the panel said.

The panel expressed concerns that at no point during her evidence did Mrs Welsby "express any empathy" for Pupil A, or the potential consequences her actions might have had on Pupil A or the police investigation.

The panel said she "failed to act in the best interests of the child concerned".

Mr Welsby admitted to the hearing that his immediate response to the allegations was he did not believe them and he said he still questioned the motives of the parent of Pupil A who reported the matter to the school.

The panel said Mr Welsby had a deep-seated attitude that "prejudiced his ability to be open-minded as to whether the allegations were true".

The secretary of state approved the panel's recommendation that both Mr and Mrs Welsby be prohibited from teaching indefinitely.

They have a right to appeal the order within 28 days.

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