Ex-head's guilty plea prompts calls for 'reassurance'

Councillors and an MP have called for a meeting to reassure parents on safeguarding issues after a former head teacher admitted a charge of possessing indecent images.

Dudley Council said there were no plans for a meeting with parents at Brockmoor and Brierley Hill primary schools after Russell Bond, 41, pleaded guilty to possessing the images in August.

When asked whether there had been an investigation into safeguarding, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) was referred to a statement from the school governors.

The statement included that police said no children from the schools were involved in the offence, and Bond was prohibited from school premises after his arrest.

Bond, of Walsall, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing indecent images of children at Birmingham magistrates on 6 August.

He was registered as a child sex offender and will be sentenced at a later date.

Bond was head of both schools, and the case sparked outrage among parents who said they were kept in the dark about the arrest.

Brockmoor councillor Steve Edwards said: "When the school first put their letter to parents saying he was no longer there, they said he was taking time off for personal issues.

"When it came out that he was in court and what he'd been charged with and pleaded guilty to, straightaway parents' backs were up.

"People feel frustrated and like they have been kept in the dark; when this was coming out, there has been no urgent response from anybody."

Edwards added the local authority's role should be to support parents, children and staff, "but the local authority, at this point, has got no interest whatsoever".

Cat Eccles, the Labour MP for Sturbridge, said she joined with Edwards and Brockmoor councillor Alex Dale in "asking the school trust, governors and LA (local authority) to meet with some parent representatives ahead of the new term to provide some reassurance to families".

"They are seeking reassurance on safeguarding and staff appointments. It's difficult because Mr Bond has not yet been sentenced but was put on leave as soon as the offence came to light," she said.

Dudley Council referred the LDRS to the statement by Tim Sunter, co-chair of governors, Black Country Federation, an alliance of the two schools.

Mr Sunter said after the governing body was informed of Bond's arrest last October, he "was immediately prohibited from entering either school, from having any contact with children or staff, and his access to all IT systems was disabled."

Bond's employment was subsequently terminated by the school and local authority.

"Naturally, the governors' first concern was whether any children from Brierley Hill or Brockmoor schools had been involved," Sunter added.

"The police have repeatedly reassured us that they were not and that the offence took place away from the school."

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This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.