Update 25th July: I have now been sent a copy of a letter sent to parents and carers at the school informing them that Mrs Aquina is to return to her post in September. See below.
Last month (14th June), all I knew about St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School in Sevenoaks, was that it had an Outstanding Ofsted Report dating back to 2014, was an averagely performing school in terms of Progress levels, usually had one of the highest proportion of pupils in the county passing the Kent Test (dipping in 2019), and just about filled in most years. I then published an article about the travails of the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership (KCSP) and the ‘unexpected absence’ of its Chief Executive. Leading on from this I was informed about the crisis at the school, a member of the Partnership. The headteacher, Mrs Aquilina, had been placed on Special Leave until the end of the academic year as the Partnership’s ‘Immediate priority as a Trust must be the children and staff of St Thomas’. This is now a major revision of the article I wrote to follow up the Pandora’s Box of outcomes that emerged followed this revelation, including the ‘voluntary absence’ of her husband, Father Aquilina, from his parish.
Between them, the two articles have now clocked up over 22,000 visitors in less than a month, an unprecedented number over the 15 years this site has been in existence. The host of comments at the foot amplify a number of the issues. I have reorganised the comments posted after the two articles to the one most appropriate for the content and have indicated where this has happened, although they are no longer in full date order. Items specific to the Partnership are now being transferred to the original article for clarity.
The St Thomas’ story continues below. I also look at the intriguing story of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, which appears to have played a significant part in the background, although not of direct relevance to the absence of Mrs Aquilina.
If you have safeguarding concerns affecting a child at any school, contact Social Services here.
You will find a copy of the letter to parents of St Thomas from the Chairman of KCSP announcing the absence of Mrs Aquilina, dated today 17th June, here. A follow-up letter dated 24th July informs parents and carers that she is to return to her post in September. Understandably, it makes no mention of the circumstances of her absence so, if there was a disciplinary action we do not know if it was heard or abandoned. Strangely there has been no mention of the role of Kent County Council in all this, although they have legal responsibility for Safeguarding matters in schools, including academies.
I do not consider it appropriate to outline the details of the alleged safeguarding incident that has brought a number of issues to a head, although you will find reference to it in the comments below. I need to make clear that it is not of the common nature of such allegations and has nothing to do with child abuse. However, if the case is as described to me, it would represent a serious breach of both safeguarding legislation and of lockdown requirements and almost certainly lead to disciplinary action. I understand there is also a separate allegation, although I am not clear if this is part of any investigation.
I have seen many letters informing parents of the enforced or unexpected absence of headteachers, but not one before that explains in such clarity that it is because ‘Our immediate priority as a Trust must be the children and staff of St Thomas’. Mrs Aquilina is now ‘on special leave until the end of the academic year’, presumably whilst a disciplinary investigation takes place into the circumstances.
In the meantime, an Acting Headteacher has been brought in to run the school in her absence. He is Mr Chris Wright, currently Executive Principal of: St Gregory's Catholic Primary, Margate; St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Broadstairs; & St Mary's Catholic Primary, Whitstable, all within KCSP. Staff at the school have been told that any approach to them by Mrs Aquilina should be reported immediately to senior staff without exception, confirming the seriousness of the matter.
Although there are some families passionately loyal to the headteacher of St Thomas’, a very significant minority are articulate in concerns about Mrs Aquilina and the involvement of her husband in the affairs of the school, dating back several years.
There was a strong indication of concerns at the school in 2018-19, when 42 parental comments were lodged on the Ofsted Parent View website for that year. This reportedly followed a drive from the school to encourage parents to express a view, as Ofsted might be coming in the near future. In the event, over half of the respondents disagreed with both of the views that 'This school is well led and managed', and that 'This school responds to well to any concerns I raise'. In both cases, the majority view is ‘strong disagreement’. In addition, only 52% of respondents 'would recommend this school to another parent'. There were a negligible number of responses in other years which is not at all uncommon, so it looks as if the school scored a big own goal. Over the years I have scanned a large number of such surveys but have never seen anything nearly as negative as this, not even in failing schools. Ofsted last inspected St Thomas' in 2014 under a previous headteacher, before it became an academy, and found the school Outstanding. However, the Parent View data should have meant the school was in line for an urgent inspection and probably has evaded it because of lockdown.
Online Petition at Change.Org
This petition is entitled 'Keep our Headteacher at St Thomas's and prevent a KCSP cluster with other schools'. I have also been sent a view of the petition from the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership, as follows:
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I don't really understand the first paragraph but I have told parents we are trying to resolve the situation as quickly as we can and will tell them the outcome then, with such details as we can within the law and individuals' right to privacy and protection of their personal data.
The suggestion we are "using" the situation for other purposes is just not true. We were presented with a situation which we are trying to deal with in accordance with the law and best practice, nothing more nothing less.
On the last two paragraphs, parents are entitled, of course, to disagree with what we do but our motives are always to support staff in our schools to give the best education and care they can to the children in their charge. That's our "business".
I will comment specifically on the governors' fund (I.e. primarily parental contributions). We introduced a reserves policy a little while ago. This explicitly leaves the control and use of these funds in the control of the local governing body of each school, including those in clusters, takes it out of the general policy on the use of reserves and introduced a mechanism to ensure governors account to parents annually on how the fund is used. In short, we have built stronger protections around these funds than previously existed to ensure they are used only for the purposes the money was given.
Mike Powis: Chair of the Trust Board
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So, the claim in the first paragraph of the petition is false.
If the incident described in Paragraph Two is as widely reported elsewhere, it would be a serious breach of Safeguarding Regulations by the person responsible for Safeguarding in the school and would rightly lead to suspension and disciplinary action. If this had been resolved, then there would be no reason for her continued absence.
If this is where it is, then the concern in Paragraphs Three and Four is misguided. I am familiar with many such cases and they always take considerable time. A recent one elsewhere in the county, reported on this site, went on for over six months. The widely unpopular plan to bring the schools together in clusters has been scrapped under the instruction of the Archbishop, with the CEO who tried to introduce it currently on a lengthy unexplained absence (probably itself a suspension), which if it isn't should surely be in the public arena.
Of course, the previous proposal referred to in Paragraph Five not to allow pupils to sit the Kent test on-site championed by the now absent CEO was also scrapped by a different Archbishop, being widely unpopular with Trust Schools, with recent actions by the Trust indicating it is now heading in a different direction and keen to respond to individual school concerns - or if not there would be a wider rebellion! Any concern about the Governors' Fund, appears to be fully addressed by Mr Powis in his statement.
I am sure that all concerned agree with the last paragraph of the petition.
It is very easy to sign up to an online petition, and I am aware of people who look at all those available and happily sign up to those they like the look of, whether or not they know any of the background. It appears in this case that a legal procedure may be proceeding, in which case this would be an irrelevance.
As a point of information, married Anglican priests who converted to Catholicism have been welcomed into the church since the 1950s. Nine years ago, in a high profile case, Father Aquilina and many of his congregation left their Anglican church at a time when a number of other clergy also converted, often because of their opposition to women and gay priests.
He is now the vicar of the Catholic Parish of St John the Baptist, Westerham, and St Theresa of the Infant Jesus, Biggin Hill, but according to a statement from the Archbishop, posted on the parish website, ‘has voluntarily withdrawn from active ministry. This is part of a process following consultation with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)’. The statement also records that ‘the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Southwark take safeguarding seriously’. The Kent LADO is responsible for investigating allegations against staff who work with children but as far as I am aware there is no suggestion of child abuse and this is also likely to be because of a safeguarding issue connected via his wife to St Thomas’ school. He frequently visited the school to teach and carry out duties, rather than the local parish priest from a church less than 300 yards away who might have been a wiser choice if available.
Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
The more I learn about this story, the more I think I understand the background to some of the passions aroused. I have been introduced to the world of the which appears to play a significant role in the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church in and around Sevenoaks, an area with a significant proportion of Anglicans who have converted to Catholicism. Whilst none of this appears relevant to the Special Absence of Mrs Aquilina, the headteacher from St Thomas Catholic Primary School (below), it explains some of the passions that have been aroused by it - now a record 12,000 reads in two weeks. As a result, I have attempted a document looking at some of the Ordinariate issues in more detail here. Relevant comments have been transferred to that page. I do not anticipate that everyone will agree with my analysis.
Footnote
It is my opinion that those critical of the leadership of St Thomas' Catholic Primary and Westerham & Biggin Hill parish (although I have not published most of the latter submissions as being irrelevant to education matters) have been generally responsible and restrained. On the other hand, several supporters have been vicious in their condemnation of those with whom they disagree, in a couple of cases naming their victims and describing their sins in some detail, whilst professing to be Christian. I understand they are forming a 'rearguard action group' planning to “get people to write to those in authority to complain about the treatment of the Aquilinas' - presumably by the Archbishop and the KCSP. My advice is to establish the facts and understand the requirements of safeguarding first.
One final random thought. Dr Clare Copeland is Chair of Governors at St Thomas. She presumably knows the relevant rules, as she is married to the Safeguarding Lead at Westerham Parish.
