Case Study
How we helped an independent school protect its reputation following the arrest of two staff members.
Within less than a month, the school faced the arrests of two members of staff, and the suicide of a third. All three matters were unrelated. A teacher was charged after having a sexual relationship with a teenage pupil, while another was accused of multiple offences related to possession of indecent images of children. The third staff member had been suffering depression and took his own life; there were no suspicious circumstances.
The school’s legal team advised on the employment implications regarding the two offenders, both of whom left the school ahead of their subsequent convictions. Alder advised on how to communicate about these departures in a low-key way, and prepared a full range of media statements and lines to take should the exact nature of either situation become more widely known. Alder also advised on the communications about the death of the staff member, helping the management team to break the news to the school, and then prepare for dealing with the inquest and any subsequent press interest.
All the incidents passed without any negative impact on the school’s reputation.
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