St John's Catholic School for the Deaf
Encyclopedia
St John's Catholic School for the Deaf is a school in Boston Spa
, Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England, founded in 1869.
The school provides a day or residential education for hearing impaired children and young people. In the primary stage it uses the Maternal Reflective Method of language teaching, pioneered by Father Van Uden in the Netherlands at St. Michielsgestel
school for the Deaf. Post-16 young people are provided with note-takers to support them when they attend local colleges, in particular York College
and Askham Bryan College
.
The school was subject to controversy in 2008, when compensation was awarded to seven men who were victims of a paedophile priest employed at the school between 1975 and 1980.
Gabby Logan
(the school's patron) presented a BBC
Radio 4 Appeal
on Easter Sunday 2009 to raise funds for an Expressive Arts Resource (EAR) the school is building. Various fundraising activities have taken place since this appeal in the school, but St. John's is yet to meet its targets.
agreed to out-of-court settlements with seven men who had attended the school in the 1970s, and had been the victims of abuse by a paedophile priest employed by the school. Controversially, the priest, Father Neil Gallanagh was not gaoled for the abuses which took place at the school from 1975 to 1980.
inspected the school in 2008 and found it to be Grade 4, "Inadequate", stating that "Significant improvement is required to ensure the school's recruitment policies and procedures comply with all the legislative requirements for the safeguarding of pupils", however the "Effectiveness of the sixth form" (16 – 19 years of age) achieved grade 1 outstanding. Ofsted inspected again in January 2009, and assessed the school as Grade 2, "Good", stating "[T]he school has swiftly put matters right and all the procedures that are currently required to help safeguard children are now in place."
Boston Spa
Boston Spa is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, south of Wetherby, on the banks of the River Wharfe...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England, founded in 1869.
The school provides a day or residential education for hearing impaired children and young people. In the primary stage it uses the Maternal Reflective Method of language teaching, pioneered by Father Van Uden in the Netherlands at St. Michielsgestel
Sint-Michielsgestel
Sint-Michielsgestel is a municipality and a town in the southern part of the Netherlands.Sint-Michielsgestel is located directly south of 's-Hertogenbosch, the capital of North Brabant province. Its name refers to archangel St...
school for the Deaf. Post-16 young people are provided with note-takers to support them when they attend local colleges, in particular York College
York College (York)
York College is a further and higher education college in York, England. It offers A-levels, AVCE, HND and NVQ degrees. It is an associate college of the University of York...
and Askham Bryan College
Askham Bryan College
Askham Bryan College is a specialist landbased college based in Askham Bryan, York, England. It also has centres in Thirsk, Bedale, Harrogate, Guisborough, Bradford, Wakefield Scarborough and Penrith....
.
The school was subject to controversy in 2008, when compensation was awarded to seven men who were victims of a paedophile priest employed at the school between 1975 and 1980.
Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan is a television presenter and radio presenter, as well as a former Wales international gymnast. She currently hosts programmes for BBC Sport, mainly focusing on football.- Early life :...
(the school's patron) presented a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 4 Appeal
Radio 4 Appeal
The Radio 4 Appeal is a British radio programme on BBC Radio 4. Each week a single speaker, usually a celebrity, appeals for support for a different charity . Listeners are invited to respond by sending cheques using a Freepost address, or can make payments online or by telephone...
on Easter Sunday 2009 to raise funds for an Expressive Arts Resource (EAR) the school is building. Various fundraising activities have taken place since this appeal in the school, but St. John's is yet to meet its targets.
Catholic priest paedophile settlement controversy
In September 2008, the Diocese of LeedsDiocese of Leeds
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite centred around Leeds Cathedral in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley which had covered all of Yorkshire...
agreed to out-of-court settlements with seven men who had attended the school in the 1970s, and had been the victims of abuse by a paedophile priest employed by the school. Controversially, the priest, Father Neil Gallanagh was not gaoled for the abuses which took place at the school from 1975 to 1980.
Ofsted reports
OfstedOfsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspected the school in 2008 and found it to be Grade 4, "Inadequate", stating that "Significant improvement is required to ensure the school's recruitment policies and procedures comply with all the legislative requirements for the safeguarding of pupils", however the "Effectiveness of the sixth form" (16 – 19 years of age) achieved grade 1 outstanding. Ofsted inspected again in January 2009, and assessed the school as Grade 2, "Good", stating "[T]he school has swiftly put matters right and all the procedures that are currently required to help safeguard children are now in place."
Further reading
Boston Spa : the story of St. John's Catholic School for Deaf Children, 1875-1975; Joselyn Taylor. Addlestone: British Deaf History Society Publications, 2007. vii, 132 p. ISBN 9781902427287External links
- Official website
- Ofsted reports
- DCMS Achievement and attainment tables 2008 (Secondary school)