Staff at two Fife schools where a head teacher is returning to her job after her husband’s sex attack conviction have been given a script for what to tell pupils, The Courier can reveal.
We told in March how parents were campaigning to stop Lucy Jess going back to her role at Wormit and Balmerino primary schools after she was pictured leaving Dundee Sheriff Court with Patrick Jess.
He had been found guilty of a string of sexual assaults and placed on the sex offenders register weeks earlier, with his wife’s teaching career mentioned in court.
Nearly three months on, Mrs Jess is making a phased return to her post.
And a document outlining “potential wording” for staff when speaking to pupils about the head teacher – also child protection co-ordinator at the primaries – has been created by Fife Council’s education chief.
Staff encouraged to tell pupils they ‘don’t properly understand’ head teacher’s absence
School employees have been given examples of how they should respond to youngsters who ask questions about Mrs Jess’s absence – and appear to cast doubt on The Courier’s coverage of events.
It is suggested that if an older child asks about the situation, an appropriate response would be: “When things go wrong for adults, it can be really complicated.
“A newspaper article tells part of the story but it doesn’t always tell enough for people to properly understand what’s happened.
“I don’t properly understand what’s happened and I don’t need to because it’s part of Mrs Jess’ family life, it’s not about our school.
“But I know that there are people who understand what’s happened who are helping Mrs Jess and her family – they aren’t worried about her coming back to our school so I don’t think we need to worry either.
“Mrs Jess hasn’t done anything wrong and she wants to get back to being our head teacher.”
The guidance for how staff handle questions from younger pupils provides less detail about the circumstances and says children should share any worries “with an adult you trust”.
Meanwhile, staff have been told to pass parents’ concerns about the issue to Mrs Jess – even if the parent specifically requests the issue is NOT dealt with by the head teacher.
The guidance says: “If the parent asks for clarification that it won’t be passed to Lucy, the staff member could say, ‘I’ve made a note that you don’t want Mrs Jess to deal with this, we have a protocol in place for that’.
“Thank the parent and end the call.
“While Katie (Mitchell, acting headteacher) is in post, pass the matter to her.
“Once Katie has left, the matter should come to Lucy along with a note that a parent does not want her to deal with it.
“Lucy will make a decision on how to address it and feed back to (the) parent.”
‘Trust’ fears as parents’ concerns could be passed to head teacher against their will
Kendra Mann, who has children at Wormit Primary, says she is concerned about how teachers are being asked to deal with the issue in front of children.
She said: “We are teaching our kids right from wrong, and they (the school) are blurring these lines.
“It is gaslighting the kids.”
Ms Mann is also worried about requests from mums and dads being passed to Mrs Jess against their instructions.
She said: “It doesn’t instil any trust in the school.”
A separate letter sent to parents on Friday by Donnie Macleod, Fife Council’s executive director of education, said: “I wanted to reassure parents that all appropriate checks and risk assessment practices have been carried out to support Mrs Jess’s return.
“Effective practices to address the safeguarding and wellbeing of all children remain our highest priority.
“Mrs Jess has been very open and honest with the service throughout this difficult journey and has been proactive in seeking out support for her return to work, including with the General Teaching Council of Scotland and us at Fife Council.
“Clear wording has been agreed by the staff to ensure consistency of messaging to pupils.
“I trust you find this information both helpful and reassuring.
“It is vitally important that we all work together to ensure that the children’s experience of school continues to be of a high quality and unaffected and with that common desire, we all need to pull together and move forward in the same direction.”
Fife Council confirmed to The Courier the wording of the script for school staff had been signed off by Mr Macleod.
In a statement, he said: “We were asked by a number of staff if we could support them by providing suggested answers to questions that they anticipated they would be asked on the head teacher’s return, which we did.
“We have also been, and continue to be, in regular contact with both schools and have listened and responded to all the parental concerns that have been raised.
“This is something we will continue to do.”
The local authority has declined to comment further.
Patrick Jess found guilty of four sexual assaults
After a trial which concluded in March, Patrick Jess was found guilty of four sexual assaults.
He was placed on the sex offenders register and ordered to complete unpaid work as a direct alternative to imprisonment.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard the former St Andrews Rifle Club coach, who has a history degree, was unsuccessful in finding a profession and instead chose to support his wife’s teaching career.
His victims believed he was an employee of the university and the 52-year-old, ashamed of his actual role as a “house husband”, never corrected them.
Disclosure Scotland told The Courier earlier this year members of the PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) scheme, such as teachers, are not required to declare their partner’s convictions.
The government agency added: “However, the Chief Constable can provide information that they consider to be relevant to a PVG scheme member’s suitability to do regulated work with children or vulnerable adults.
“This can include information about the wider circumstances of the PVG member.”
