Top private school 'ignored' concerns over paedophile teacher who wrapped boy in clingfilm, report says
An independent investigator found there had been 'several incidents' which indicated Jonathan Thomson-Glover he was unsuitable to work with children, but complaints were ignored by head teachers
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Your support makes all the difference.A paedophile teacher at a top private school was allowed to keep his job despite repeated concerns raised by parents and colleagues over his inappropriate behaviour, which included wrapping a pupil in cling-film.
Jonathan Thomson-Glover, 53, was jailed for three years and nine months after being found guilty of sex offences involving young boys at Clifton College in Bristol.
He taught German and was a housemaster at the co-ed day and boarding school, which houses up to 560 boys and girls aged 13-18.
Thomson-Glover was convicted of taking and possessing hundreds of indecent images of children and secretly filming pupils over a period of 16 years at the college.
At his trial at Bristol Crown Court last year he was found to have hidden cameras in school bathrooms and in a bedroom where the children were encouraged to engage in sexual activity.
An independent report commissioned by the school noted that warning signs of Thomson-Glover’s activities should have been picked up sooner, after it was found that three head teachers had failed to take effective action following complaints made to them by staff, pupils and parents.
Independent investigator Penny Jones said there had been “several incidents” which could have indicated he was unsuitable to work with children, but the cases were not investigated and staff were not sufficiently aware of safeguarding issues.
Letters and notes of meetings were not placed on his personnel file, a note of disciplinary action was lost, and each incident was considered in isolation, she said.
In a number of cases, parents who complained were told they should find another school for their child.
Thomson-Glover pleaded guilty to 36 counts of making, taking and possessing indecent images of children between 1987 and 1992.
Earlier this year he was also convicted of sexually abusing young boys at his holiday home in Cornwall, and was given an additional six month prison sentence.
Around 80 current and former staff were interviewed for the investigation, and former head teachers Andrew Hugh Monro, Stephen Spurr and Mark Moore were called to give evidence.
The report revealed that Thomson-Glover had started filming pupils in 1998 when he put a camcorder in a shower changing room.
In summer 1999, a cleaner and a young student reported that the housemaster had been found taped to a chair at the college half-naked.
A few months later, he was found taped to a chair again in just his underwear by a teacher who told headmaster Mr Munro, it was reported.
In September 2000, then head teacher Mr Spurr launched an enquiry after reports Thomson-Glover was again tied to a chair as a prank but told him "whatever happened don't do it again".
A cleaner also reported that one of the boys was wrapped up in cling film by Thomson-Glover in 2005.
In another incident, a deputy head of pastoral care raised concerns about Thomson-Glover's activities to head teacher Mr Moore, but was told the matter was 'dealt with'.
Referring to Thomson-Glover as “X”, Ms Jones wrote in her findings: “Poor record keeping meant that successive heads were unable to see that a large number of concerns about X had been raised during his career at Clifton.
“Each incident was considered in isolation, none met the threshold applied at the time for disciplinary action, and the cumulative effect of the various incidents and behaviours was never considered.
“A lack of consistent systems, procedures, oversight and accountability allowed X to establish what would now be recognised as grooming behaviour.
'There were no regulations or school rules at the time requiring specific systems and procedures to be in place, neither was there a good public understanding of the way children might be groomed by trusted adults.'
Tim Greene, the current head teacher at Clifton College, has since apologised to pupils and parents and said changes have been made to the school’s staff training and complaints procedure, as well as the way it logs and shares child protection information.
An NSPCC spokesperson said the report was “deeply concerning” and highlighted “how Thomson-Glover was able to abuse a position of trust over many years without action being taken”.
“He was a serial sex offender, responsible for dozens of offences and with no regard for the consequences of his actions on his victims.
”It's crucial that schools are a place of safety for children any allegations of abuse are taken seriously and fully investigated.“