Former Priors Hall headteacher ‘put pupils at risk of abuse and harm’ when he kept safeguarding files in ‘bags and drawers’

Christopher Woolhouse, who was headteacher at Priors Hall – A Learning Community in Corby between 2018 and 2020, has been banned by his professional standards body after he repeatedly breached safeguarding rules.

As a result of his poor practises, the referrals of 13 children to the relevant safeguarding body were delayed.

The Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel ruled today (Thursday, March 12) that Mr Woolhouse will not be able to teach for at least five years before he can attempt to apply for a review of his case.

When he took over as head at Priors Hall – now part of the Inspiring Futures Through Learning Trust – Mr Woolhouse was the third head at the school in three years.

He had applied to the TRA for the disciplinary matter to be dealt with without a hearing, which would have meant the case did not face public scrutiny, but the panel members decided that a full hearing was in the public interest.

The panel heard that Mr Woolhouse admitted all the allegations against him at the outset. He conceded that he failed to ensure adequate records were kept in relation to safeguarding concerns.

He also agreed that he didn’t regularly hold safeguarding meetings or review safeguarding files, and that he failed to refer allegations to the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) and exposed children to a risk of abuse. A MASH brings together GPs, social services, the police and other authorities and is designed to take overall responsibility for safaguarding concerns.

The headteacher also admitted that he didn’t pass on important safeguarding files when children moved schools.

The panel heard that in May 2020, Mr Woolhouse told the trust safeguarding lead that records were being kept in poor order.

In a witness statement to the panel, she said said that Mr Woolhouse had told her that the records were there, but were not in the correct files. She asked him whether any concerns had gone unreported and he said that it was merely an ‘organisational issue’.

She told him she was worried that disorganisation could result in information being missed and he should prioritise organising the folders. A week later he told her he was ‘happy it was all sorted and in order’, but she said she now believes that this was not true.

A month later the safeguarding lead responded to a concern raised by another member of staff that there were records missing from a pupil’s file.

Mr Woolhouse told her it ‘could be in his notebook at home’ – despite the fact safeguarding information should be securely stored on site.

When the safeguarding lead began an investigation, she realised there were failings dating back to Mr Woolhouse’s appointment in 2018. He had failed to refer multiple safeguarding concerns to the relevant MASH and had not forwarded files to new schools when pupils left the school.

There were 39 ‘red’ files – containing safeguarding concerns and referral forms – that required organisation.

Concern forms that had not been acted on were found in plastic bags and a further form was uncovered in his desk drawer.

One day later she reported her concerns to the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children Board.

Seven previously unreported referrals relating to 13 children were then made to the MASH.

A full audit revealed further failings. Other staff members told the panel they had discovered missing files which had left them ‘shocked’. One said that 16 [out of] 27 concern forms about sexualised behaviour had not been reported. He also said he had tried to organise files himself after finding concern forms ‘in drawers and bags.’

Another staff member said that she had raised multiple safeguarding concerns and had been told her concerns were ‘all in hand’. She later discovered MASH had not been informed.

Weekly safeguarding meetings had not been held, or had not been minuted.

A member of staff said she found 10 files in Mr Woolhouse’s drawers relating to children who had left the school which had not been shared.

There were another 17 children’s files which should have been transferred to new schools and/or relevant agencies.

Mr Woolhouse was not able to explain why safeguarding concerns had not been referred to the MASH.

In July 2020 a disciplinary hearing was heard at which he resigned.

The teacher misconduct panel judgement said: “The panel considered a number of examples of children who had reported serious safeguarding issues which it appeared were not properly followed up by Mr Woolhouse including relating to sexual and physical abuse. The panel also considered that some of these matters met the high threshold for MASH.

"The nature of the safeguarding concerns therefore was indicative of the fact that pupils were exposed to risk of abuse and harm by Mr Woolhouse’s actions/inaction. The panel considered that Mr Woolhouse’s failure to act put pupils at increased risk.”

A written witness statement submitted to the hearing by Mr Woolhouse said that his actions were the product of inexperience and that he was ‘overwhelmed’. He said ‘none of this was done maliciously.’ He acknowledged that he had ‘made serious errors and omissions’, stated that he was ‘ashamed,’ and accepted that his actions could have placed children at risk.

He also said that he did not want to work in a leadership role again in the future.

He stated that there had been “no filing, no chronology and the files were not in order."

Mr Woolhouse was banned from teaching for five years. A written decision said: “The panel finds that the conduct of Mr Woolhouse fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

“In light of the panel’s findings against Mr Woolhouse, which involved failing to ensure safeguarding concerns were properly managed, including inadequate record-keeping, insufficient oversight, failure to refer serious concerns to MASH, and failures in transferring safeguarding information when pupils left the School, the panel considered that there was a strong public interest consideration in protecting the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils, as the conduct found demonstrated issues which exposed children to risk.”

A spokesperson for Inspiring Futures through Learning said: “The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our absolute priority. Shortly after Priors Hall School joined our trust in April 2020, we were made aware of concerns relating to the management of safeguarding procedures.

“We immediately launched a thorough and robust investigation, which uncovered inadequate processes dating back to 2018, before the school joined our trust. We took swift action by suspending Mr Woolhouse, and we formally referred the matter to both the local authority safeguarding teams and the Teacher Regulation Agency.

“We expect the highest standards of safeguarding from all our staff and school leaders. Today, all safeguarding processes at Priors Hall fully align with our rigorous standards. This has been validated by Ofsted in the school’s 2024 report, as well as through regular independent reviews and our strong, ongoing partnership with the local authority safeguarding team.”