UNITED KINGDOM
Third Sector
11 July 2014 by Sam Burne James
The Charity Commision says it will investigate whether the independent school’s policies have dealt with the risks to the charity and its beneficiaries resulting from recent allegations
The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the charitable independent establishment St Paul’s School in south-west London in relation to its safeguarding policy and handling of allegations of sexual abuse.
Since February, a total of six arrests have been made as part of Operation Winthorpe, a Metropolitan Police investigation into historical abuse allegations.
The commission said it had been engaging with the charity’s trustees since May 2014 in the wake of national press coverage of those arrests and investigations, before it opened its statutory inquiry on 11 June.
The commission’s inquiry will examine four areas: the creation, development, substance and implementation of the school’s safeguarding policy; how it dealt with risks to the charity and its beneficiaries arising from the alleged incidents; whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties under charity law; and whether there has been any misconduct or mismanagement on the part of the trustees.
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