20 October 2022
Chetham’s School of Music gave evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in 2019, after applying for Core Participant status. Today, 20 October 2022, the IICSA has published its concluding report.
Chetham’s School of Music would like to share the following media statement in response to the concluding report:
“To the victims and survivors of abuse including their families and loved ones, we are truly sorry.”
“Former tutors at Chetham’s betrayed and manipulated the trust that had been placed in them, and there was a failure to safeguard young people. Students at our school were not protected and some teachers exploited their positions of trust. Serious errors of judgement were made, and young people were not listened to in the way that they should have been. When reports of abuse did come to light, we did not offer appropriate support.”
“Students, families and staff know that Chetham’s today is a place where safeguarding and student wellbeing is at the heart of what we do. This is in large part down to the bravery of the survivors who have come forward and told their stories.”
“Today’s report confirms above all else that there is no room for complacency. As the report says ‘child sexual abuse is not a problem consigned to the past.”
“These mistakes must never be repeated, here or elsewhere. We therefore welcome all 20 recommendations in the report.”
“We pledge to continue to strive to play a leading role in driving change by being open about our past failures and sharing the lessons we have learned with education leaders at other schools and institutions. We will continue to work for the benefit of children everywhere, not just those in our own care.”
“None of this work can undo past failures, and our apologies will never be enough, but we will do everything in our power to ensure that young people across the UK today are safe and protected.”
ENDS
You can read our previous IICSA statements here:
IICSA Statement, 1 October 2019
IICSA Statement, 27 September 2019
For more information about Safeguarding at Chetham’s, please visit our Safeguarding page.
