A Red Bay Primary School teacher removed last year following the launch of an investigation into alleged misconduct by staff members towards students, returned to the school on Monday, 7 Nov., without any official explanation.
Media reports at the time claimed that school officials had questioned some of the older students about their sexual orientation, and staff allegedly engaged in so-called ‘exorcism’ practices.
Education officials have been tight-lipped on the status of the more-than-year-long investigation into allegations against school officials, but now parents are calling for answers.
“We deserve to know what has happened,” a parent of a student at the school told the Cayman Compass on Wednesday.
She asked not to be named for fear that her child would be victimised at the school.
Status of investigation unclear
Director of the Department of Education Services Mark Ray, in a statement to the Compass Tuesday, said the Ministry of Education and DES “cannot comment on personnel matters, however, we wish to assure the public that we remain committed to ensuring the continued safety of all our students and staff”.
The parent said she and other parents were disappointed by the handling of the matter from the start.
“I think that an explanation should be given by the department that was conducting the investigation… They should actually say, ‘Hey, this did not happen, or this is what happened’… an explanation of some sort,” the parent said.
Though details of the allegations were not released, the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, run by the police’s Family Support Unit and the Department of Children and Family Services, was said to be carrying out the investigation, which was launched in May last year at the request of the Ministry of Education.
The parent who spoke with the Compass said the ministry and DES should meet with parents as soon as possible to address their concerns.
Surprise announcement
The parent said she was shocked when the teacher in question was introduced to the student population last week at a school function, and there was no word on the outcome of the probe.
She said other parents shared their concerns, saying that the investigation has been pending for more than a year and there had been no communication with parents to date.
“I think it’s disrespectful to the parents because, based on what the media reported back then, the allegations were serious. So, if there were any truth to it, we deserve to know, or if she is innocent, we deserve to know, in order to have peace of mind because our kids are in her care. So, either way, we deserve to know,” she said.
“If they are innocent and nothing wrong happened, then they deserve to have their names cleared,” the parent said, adding that the fact that one person in the investigation was placed back at the school without an explanation has raised a red flag.
“I think there’s some real fear that will happen with the principal as well. Again, like I said, they may or may not be innocent, but we need to know,” she said.
Some of the students involved have since moved on from Red Bay Primary, she added, and suggested that some of the parents of children at the school now may not be aware of the allegations from last year.
However, she said, the ministry saying the probe is ongoing is not informative.
“Now she’s back in school again and we don’t know what happened,” she added.
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