Nottingham head teacher banned after pupils ‘had sex on Swiss ski trip’

A school principal has been banned from the profession after she failed to stop students shoplifting, drinking and engaging in sexual activity on a skiing trip.

Justine Drury, who worked at CP Riverside School in Nottingham, was in charge of an excursion to Switzerland in 2017, where teenagers had sex “on multiple occasions”, a misconduct panel heard.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said she failed to get parental consent for all of the attendees and “did not take sufficient steps to reduce the risk of inappropriate behaviour by pupils”, including one reportedly stealing knives from a hotel kitchen.

Mrs Drury, 52, was found guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct”, and her prohibition order will be reviewed after five years.

Mrs Drury, who was not present during the hearing, had been principal of the school – which provides “alternative education provision” for children aged 13 to 16 with “behaviour or social issues” – since September 2015.

In November 2017, allegations were made about incidents from the trip, which were then referred to the TRA in December 2018.

A statement by a witness submitted to the panel found that of the 12 pupils attending the trip, “10 had special educational needs, eight were known to be sexually active, seven were known to have substance misuse problems and three had current justice system involvement”.

“In the panel’s view, certain pupils would have likely been identified as unsuitable for attending the ski trip if individual assessments had taken place,” it said.

Three staff members and two ski instructors had been organised for supervision, but one of the staff members was an apprentice.

While “some steps” were taken to reduce risks, such as having boys and girls in rooms on separate floors, the panel found “sexual activity had more than likely taken place throughout the course of the ski trip”.

“The pupils were left unsupervised within their bedrooms, leaving them vulnerable to engaging in sexual activity,” the hearing said.

“It was evident insufficient steps had been taken to reduce the risk of sexual activity, as this likely took place on multiple occasions.”

Though none of the pupils present on the trip were witnesses or provided statements for the hearing, the panel found Mrs Drury “fundamentally failed to safeguard one or more pupils on the ski trip and acted in breach of a number of policies, procedures and guidance”.

“[She] failed to put the interests of the school or pupils first and inhibited the effectiveness of measures, which could have taken place shortly after the incidents to safeguard the pupils,” it said.

“[Her] failure to disclose the full scope of the incidents, which took place on the trip, fell far below the ethical standards expected of a teacher, particularly given her status as a head teacher.”