The Charity Commission has published inquiry findings into St Laurence Educational Trust (SLET) and Ampleforth Abbey Trust (AAT), having opened investigations in November 2016.
The length of the inquiry has been “significantly” impacted by the charities satisfying several regulators of their safeguarding effectiveness.
SLET runs Ampleforth College, an independent school located on the same site as Ampleforth Abbey, which is operated by the AAT. Monks from the abbey provide chaplaincy and teaching to pupils at the college.
The Commission found that trustees of the abbey had not adequately managed safeguarding risks to pupils attending the college but acknowledged that improvements had been made.
Background
In August and September 2016, the Commission became aware of allegations of abuse of pupils at the college and the preparatory school by both monks of the abbey and lay employees, as well as reports of individuals that had been convicted of historic sexual offences against pupils at the college.
The Commission engaged with the AAT board, and disclosures were then made of nine previously unreported serious abuse allegations and/or convictions (both historic and recent) which the abbey board had been made aware of in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The majority of these were reported to have been committed against pupils by staff and monks in place at the time.
On 15 November 2016, the Commission opened a statutory inquiry.
Between October 2017 and March 2018, the inquiry received five additional serious incident reports in relation to additional historic abuse allegations and recent serious safeguarding incidents involving pupils at the college (these reports came from both AAT and SLET).
The inquiry considered these matters had not been reported to the Commission in a timely manner.
This significantly undermined the information and assurances that had been provided by the AAT trustees, the report states.
Separately, the 2018 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) examined evidence of sexual abuse over decades and found a “culture of acceptance of abusive behaviour” at Ampleforth which “prioritised the monks and staff as well as their own reputations over the protection of children”.
IICSA reported monks tried to avoid giving information that might have helped the investigation, and at Ampleforth “the monitoring of monks who were known or suspected abusers was rarely as vigilant as it should have been”.
Monks were moved away from the school to avoid scandal, and the known risk of child sexual abuse was therefore transferred to other locations.
Actions by the regulator
On 21 March 2018, the regulator appointed Emma Moody, of Womble Bond Dickinson as interim manager.
Shortly before the appointment of the interim manager, in late February 2018, North Yorkshire Police became aware of an incident in which a registered sex offender stayed overnight at the abbey.
The inquiry discharged the interim manager on 27 May 2020, and the cost of the appointment was £368,000.
However, the college subsequently failed an emergency inspection by Ofsted in September 2020.
The Department for Education issued an enforcement notice to the college on 27 November 2020 which prohibited the admission of new pupils. The restriction was withdrawn on 15 April 2021.
On 12 November 2019, the Commission disqualified a former trustee of AAT from acting as a trustee.
In his position as a trustee, he had been aware of safeguarding concerns both historic and more recent, some of which had caused serious harm to individuals.
He failed to ensure relevant procedures and policies were strictly adhered to and that any further concerns raised were managed appropriately to ensure student safety.
Inquiry findings
Trustees of the abbey were not adequately managing safeguarding risks to pupils attending the college, the Commission found.
It said the “slow pace” at which changes were made exposed children to risks of harm.
“Children were subjected to appalling sexual abuse over decades”, it says, often perpetrated by college staff and members of the monastic community.
There were significant weaknesses in the charities’ approach to safeguarding, governance, and management.
It found numerous past instances in which both charities failed to manage safeguarding incidents appropriately and trustees failed to fulfil their responsibilities under charity law, which put students at the college at risk of harm.
SLET repeatedly failed to meet independent school standards and these failures, along with the slow pace at which cultural change and improvements were made, exposed beneficiaries to risks of harm and the college to reputational harm.
Trustees of Ampleforth Abbey were found to lack sufficient expertise and oversight and records relating to safeguarding were poor.
The inquiry also found they were not adequately managing safeguarding risks to pupils attending the college.
The report reads: “Focusing on avoiding negative or critical media coverage when incidents have happened will not fulfil the trustees’ duty to protect a charity’s reputation, nor serve the shared responsibility to uphold the reputation of charity as a whole.”
It adds that when an incident is very serious the Commission expects it to be reported immediately.
‘Strides have been made’
During the inquiry, the Commission recognised the charities’ implementation of structured governance reviews and the recruitment of experienced safeguarding personnel as positive steps towards improving safeguarding culture.
It adds “positive strides have been made by both charities” but emphasised the need for continued vigilance and robust safeguarding measures.
Amy Spiller, head of investigations at the Commission, said: “The inquiry found several weaknesses and failures in the approach to and handling of safeguarding matters across both charities which exposed pupils to risk of harm.
“We expect safeguarding to be a priority for all charities, and the lack of oversight demonstrated mismanagement in the administration of these charities.
“We recognise the progress made by both charities during the inquiry, including recent compliance with regulatory standards, but the findings of our inquiry underscored the importance of maintaining high safeguarding standards and rebuilding public trust.”
Charities respond
The AAT welcomed the Commission’s publication of its report and offered a “sincere and heartfelt apology to anyone who suffered abuse while in the care of our schools, parishes, or other ministries”.
AAT said in a statement: “Throughout this inquiry, the trustees have co-operated with the Commission and have worked hard, with the help and guidance of many professionals, to learn from past mistakes and to ensure that a positive and professional safeguarding culture is embedded in all of the Abbey’s works.
“As the Commission states in its report: 'Changes to safeguarding practice are now embedded across and throughout AAT, and there is now a professional culture adopted in the way in which safeguarding incidents are managed and addressed.
“AAT has benefitted from the recruitment of new and expert safeguarding trustees, new executive leadership and the appointment of experienced safeguarding personnel to manage safeguarding operations.
“AAT now has the foundations in place to ensure safeguarding is carried out effectively and the right personnel are in place to lead AAT in building on those foundations.”
SLET also welcomed the report’s publication and said it was “grateful for the support that the Commission has given in helping us identify and address failings in the safeguarding regime for Ampleforth College”.
“We share the Commission’s objective that our beneficiaries should be safe at all times,” it said in a statement.
“We have worked very hard to put a regime and culture in place that delivers outstanding safeguarding and pastoral care and will continue to do so.
“We welcome the recent conclusions of Ofsted which recognise this and look forward to a continued positive relationship with the Commission.”
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