Cranbrook to probe 15 years of any ‘serious child safety matters’

The elite school’s council will commission an external review as one of four actions it will take in its attempts to ‘maintain the confidence of the school community’.

Nicholas Sampson, former headmaster of Cranbrook.

Elite Sydney private school Cranbrook will commission an external review into the school’s handling of any serious child safety matters over the last 15 years following multiple allegations made by staff and students at the school.

The memo to parents from Cranbrook council President Geoff Lovell on Monday followed a weekend of crisis talks and an emergency council meeting on Sunday night.

Long-serving headmaster Nicholas Sampson was forced to resign from his position on Friday following fresh allegations about a teacher at the prestigious eastern suburbs school, with the Council previously telling parents Mr Sampson’s failure to “disclose the matter” led to an “irrevocable breakdown of trust between the headmaster and the school council”.

That teacher remains on leave and inquiries are ongoing, Mr Lovell said.

The Council set out four actions it would take in its attempts to “maintain the confidence of the School community”.

“The School Council will … commission an external review of the School’s handling of any serious child safety matters since 2010 (or earlier as required)” and “establish, in addition to current reporting mechanisms, an external avenue for people to report serious concerns”, it said.

The reporting mechanism would be available to current and former staff, students and parents of Cranbrook, and to anyone else who believes they have relevant information, under this proposal.

The Council also said it would “continue the existing School culture project, which is being conducted by external consultants, and ensure it appropriately addresses relevant staff and student culture concerns”. The Australian understands this is separate to a proposed cultural review in 2022 which never eventuated.

It said it would also review the School’s policies and procedures relating “to (a) child protection, (b) workplace health and safety, (c) whistleblowing, and (d) discrimination and bullying”.

“Our priority is to ensure that students experience minimal disruption and that our staff are fully supported. The School Council believes strongly in the quality and integrity of Cranbrook’s educational programs and the excellence and commitment of its staff,” Mr Lovell said in the email to the school community.

The latest head-spin for Cranbrook was set off by an ABC Four Corners ­episode, broadcast on Monday, highlighting a history of abuse, bullying and mistreatment of staff and students at the school.

The new allegations, which pushed Mr Sampson’s resignation, relate to his nondisclosure of a male Cranbrook teacher allegedly sending numerous sexually-explicit emails to an ex-female student in 2014 at a Catholic girls’ school. She was an adult at the time, and the emails involved lewd comments about threesomes with and the appearances of other former students.

Michele Marquet, the much-respected head of Cranbrook’s junior school, was appointed acting head of school in the wake of Sampson’s resignation, and the council said they would be working closely with her.

The school is yet to commence a search process for a new Head of School.