St. Peter’s Cambridge School Trust Board wants to acknowledge the Abuse in Care Royal Commission’s final report that was released yesterday (24 July 2024).

St. Peter's acknowledges all victims of abuse in care who participated in the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry over the last few years, and we particularly want to acknowledge St. Peter's alumni who provided evidence and shared their experiences as part of the Inquiry.

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It is horrific to hear about any instances of historical child abuse, especially when it involves St. Peter’s alumni. Once again, we want to apologise on behalf of past leaders of the school for failing to protect former students from such abuse.

While we can’t rewrite history, as a school we want to do what we can to support any former students through the independent, confidential Listening Service we set up in November 2021 and which is still available.

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The Listening Service helps to determine the appropriate support that can be offered to each alumnus who contacts the service. This includes free counselling. Alumni who suffered abuse by former staff members can receive support through the Listening Service by emailing alumniassist@outlook.com.

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We want all alumni to know that in recent years St. Peter’s has initiated many safeguards to protect current and future students who learn and board with us. These include:

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• Educating our staff and students in respect of abuse and what their role is, so that we can make sure our school is a safe place.
• Changing environmental factors to safeguard children. For instance, we have retrofitted glass to doors in teaching spaces and other areas where students may meet with staff.
• Reviewing and strengthening protocols for responding to notifications of abuse.
• Reviewing how we hire staff. We are now taking a more values-based approach when interviewing.

St. Peter’s has developed a child protection policy and processes, and our school invests in ongoing child safeguarding training for staff. Additionally, our students have several different ways they can report any abuse concerns.

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All of the school’s child abuse safeguarding, prevention and protection measures have been reviewed by a recognised expert in this discipline, Dr Suzanne Blackwell. These measures are subject to regular review as we strive to maintain a best practice approach to child safeguarding.

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Finally, the St. Peter’s School Trust Board commends the Royal Commission for this historically significant work.

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John Macaskill-Smith

School Trust Board Chair