Paul Keane, Executive Headteacher's response to allegations
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Paul Keane, Executive Headteacher of Coed Eva Primary School in Cwmbran has provided an initial response to the allegations of corruption involving it's current Associate Headteacher and, at the time, Acting Executive Headteacher of the school, Elizabeth Thomas.
The Federation of Blenheim Road Community & Coed Eva Primary Schools
‘Inspire, Believe, Achieve’
Sent via email
Wednesday 20th May 2020
Dear Sir
Letter received 11thMay 2020
I write to acknowledge your correspondence to a member of school staff received on 11thMay 2020.
Before I can investigate your allegations, I would ask you for clarification and any evidence supporting the statement you have made in order that I, as Executive Headteacher, may investigate and respond to you.
Please be advised that if the school does not receive any supporting correspondence from you within 14 days of the date of issue of this letter we will close the complaint.
Yours sincerely
Paul Keane
Executive Headteacher
Who would want to complain about Coed Eva Primary? It's a really good school!
Transparency is about shedding light on rules, plans, processes and actions
I guess Mr. Keane didn't have chance to read Corruption is not always about the money, but due to the seriousness of the allegations set out in Part One, I have done my best to make things a little more transparent for him and his colleagues on the school's governing board.
<EMAIL ADDRESS>
Members of the Governing Board
Coed Eva Primary School
Teynes
Coed Eva
Cwmbran NP44 4TG
Dear Mr. Keane,
Your letter of 20th May 2020, in respect of allegations of corruption
Thank you for getting in touch and giving me the opportunity to provide you with some clarification regarding the allegations I have published online at http://corruptionvalley.blogspot.com
I respectfully suggest that any lack of clarity you may have is a result of your treating the matters as a complaint falling within the requirements of Section 29 of the Education Act 2002.
Hopefully you will be pleased to learn that I am extremely satisfied with the performance of the school and am quick to express that sentiment whenever the opportunity arises. The facilities are modern and well presented, the teaching and administrative staff are friendly and attentive, and the students seem happy and well-engaged. I am sure you have been very happy there since you arrived in January 2020.
With that in mind, I wish to clarify my understanding that your association to the school at the time of the acts alleged in my publication was limited to your appointment to the position of Head Teacher - I have no reason to believe you had any knowledge or involvement with the matters during the period between when your appointment was announced in the autumn of 2019 and when you started.
However, the recency of your appointment does raise issues pertaining to these matters more generally. As a senior Torfaen County Borough Council employee, and as Headteacher and senior member of the school's governing board, I hope you can agree that it is fair to assume you are familiar with any relevant statutory obligations you may have.
You will be aware that Section 29 of the Education Act requires the governing bodies of all maintained schools in Wales to "establish procedures for dealing with all complaints relating to the school... other than complaints falling to be dealt with in accordance with any procedures required to be established in relation to the school by virtue of a statutory provision other than [that] section", and to "publicise the procedures so established".
As required by the Council's Code of Conduct, you are aware that you "must comply with the Council's constitution, policies and procedures", including the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy, which forms part of the legal and operational framework under which the Council's Internal Audit operates in accordance with Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2014 (Wales), and the mandatory Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS) as updated.
From emails (enclosed) between yourself, the Public Services Support Unit and Shared Resource Services, I am aware that the allegations of corruption are being "addressed corporately" and that you have received advice on your actions in contacting me.
You will be aware that rather than contacting senior officers of the Council departments accused of complicity in corrupt acts, you were required to "[liase] with the Head of Internal Audit who will conduct an initial investigation into the allegation".
Presumably when you wrote to me on 20th May, you will have been aware that "[you], as Executive Headteacher", are not the appropriate person to "investigate and respond to [me]".
I hope you can understand that your emails, actions and subsequent contact with me obviously raise a number of concerns.
Given that the legal framework provides for the "active encouragement" of raising concerns about fraud and corruption, I can not determine any positive reason why you felt it necessary to "[apologise] for emailing" about them.
Whilst I am sure that when Elizabeth Thomas, Associate Headteacher forwarded my mail to you on May 11th her admission that she had not reviewed the content of my mail was true - she no doubt would have chosen her other words more carefully in such an event; and regardless of them being inaccurate, discriminatory and directly supportive of my allegations, her conduct is more a matter for any forthcoming criminal investigation - I would however be very suprised if you had not yet taken the time to review it.
If you haven't already done so, please take any of the three opportunities provided to you in this communication to review the content of my allegations. As a reputational matter for the school, and the teachers and parents who serve on it's governing board, you will agree that it is necessary for you to be in possession of the relevant claims.
As I always try to, I have received your communication in good faith. I am aware that as a relatively new member of staff, the freshness of the policies with which you are required to familiarise yourself is accompanied by an understandable lack of familiarity with their application in practise.
It is as a personal courtesy that I strongly urge you to take independent legal advice in respect of these matters. I am of the opinion that you are at considerable legal risk, not least under provisions of the Fraud Act 2006. If the advice you received from the Public Services Support Unit is inconsistent with your own feelings regarding the matters published or indeed with what I am writing to you, I would also suggest that you make a protected disclosure to any of the prescribed bodies you feel would be most appropriate.
It is not without some humour that I feel it necessary to inform you that I have a prejudicial interest in any such disclosure, and in any other disclosure to any objective audience in respect of these matters.
Whilst I do not recommend that you contact her, I can assure you that the more experienced and much more wiley co-recipient of my email to Mrs. Thomas, Deb Smith, has not made any similar procedural mistakes.
I trust that you will properly ensure the transmission of this letter to its other addressed recipients, but will make a copy available for their inspection on the Corruption Valley blog for their convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Young
P.S - You have forgotten to affix a valid document reference to your letter of May 20th, and the complaints policy and other governance documents that the school is legally required to publish on it's website are not currently available.
Your emails (enclosed)
Below is a verbatim copy of the emails referenced to Mr. Keane.
Allegations of corruption
TCBC - Corporate Complaints
May 21 at 11:21 AM
Dear Mr Young
Thank you for your emails, as requested please find below a copy of your email as I received it.
Best regards
Caron Davies
Complaints/FOI Manager / Rheolwr Cwynion/Rhyddid Gwybodaeth
Chief Executive’s Service / Gwasanaeth Y Prif Weithredwr
Torfaen County Borough Council / Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen
Tel / Ffôn 01495 742164
Email / Ebost caron.davies@torfaen.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter / Find us on Facebook / www.torfaen.gov.uk
This email is available in large print or Braille upon request
To'
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"Addressed corporately"
From: Bullock, Sue Sent: 12 May 2020 08:28
To: Puddy, Lyndon Cc: Price, Amanda Subject: RE: Allegations of corruption
Importance: High
Hi Both
Please see below an email that has been received into Blenheim Road school. I would appreciate your thoughts on how we advise the school in progressing this matter.
I have attached an email which is the content of the blog.
Mandy is going to advise the school and SRS to not make any further contact until you can confirm if the email content below has been addressed corporately and would welcome your advice that the data protection team can advise the school on next steps.
Regards
Sue Bullock
Data Protection & Information Governance Manager/Rheolwr Diogelu Data a Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth
Public Services Support Unit / Uned Cefnogi Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus
Torfaen County Borough Council / Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen
Phone / Ffôn: 01633 647467 (7467)
Mobile/Symudol: 07980 696871
Email / Ebost: Sue.Bullock@torfaen.gov.uk
Copy of Corruption Valley sent to Public Services Support Unit
From: Price, Amanda Sent: 12 May 2020 08:04
To: Bullock, Sue Subject: FW: Allegations of corruption
Importance: High
Mr. Keane apologises for emailing
From: Keane, Paul Sent: 11 May 2020 17:14
To: Stephens, Sarah Cc: Thomas, Elizabeth Subject: FW: Allegations of corruption
Importance: High
Dear Sarah and Mandy
Please see below, which Liz Thomas (one of our associate headteachers) has received this afternoon. We are not sure who it may have originated from but I am copying you in as both TCBC and SRS are mentioned. Liz has not clicked on the link.
Apologies for emailing but I have not had to deal with this sort of matter before and would appreciate your advice.
Kind regards
Paul
Paul Keane
Executive Headteacher
The Federation of Blenheim Road Community & Coed Eva Primary Schools, Cwmbran
https://federationbrce.com
Mrs. Thomas notifies Mr. Keane
From: Thomas, Elizabeth Sent: 11 May 2020 16:18
To: Keane, Paul Subject: Fwd: Allegations of corruption
I haven’t clicked on the link. The email address NY maybe Nathan Young who is a parent and has had some previous mental health issues.
From: Sent: Monday, May 11, 2020 3:59:30 PM
To: Smith, Deb backoffice@sharedresourceservices.gov.uk I need you and TCBC to address the allegations I have made against your organisation as published at
I am giving you notice that I object to TCBC and Shared Resource Services Business Solutions Limited processing my personal data because offences may be being committed, to preserve evidence of offences that have already been committed, and because there is a high degree of risk that my rights and the rights
of others will be violated otherwise.
corruptionvalley.blogspot.com
Internal Audit
For those wondering, the Head of Internal Audit is Peter Williams. For those of you who are looking out for names from Part One, Peter Williams reports to Nigel Aurelius.
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