Wednesday 8 June 2022 07:01 PM Safeguarding head at £43,000-a-year Harrow School suspended for discussing ... trends now
The safeguarding lead at one of the UK's top independent schools which charges more than £43,000 per year has been suspended after appearing to breach their own safeguarding policies by loudly discussing students' personal details on a busy London train.
MailOnline can exclusively reveal that Philip Evans, Director of Safeguarding at Harrow School, held a phone conversation in which students were identified by their first names and sensitive issues concerning them were discussed.
These included mental health concerns, discussed included intimate details of the students' health and wellbeing, ability to sit GCSE exams and their sexual identity.
Mr Evans was openly wearing his Harrow School ID lanyard on the train, which was a South Western Railway service travelling in London.
Harrow School expressed regret 'that a trusted staff member who holds such a critical role within our school community may have apparently betrayed that trust.'
Mr Evans mentioned the school by name on several occasions during the conversation, which was witnessed by a MailOnline journalist.
He proceeded to disclose confidential details of safeguarding concerns around young students, two of whom he named.
Philip Evans is the Director of Safeguarding at Harrow School, which charges parents £43,665 per year per child
He commented on one student's mental health while repeatedly referring to them by their first name in the public train carriage, giving exact details as to how the student expressed these feelings.
Mr Evans then audibly questioned whether the pupil should continue to attend Harrow and take their exams, adding he doesn't think the student should be sitting them.
He said: 'I don't think he should be sitting exams... but it seems to be helping.'
He then proceeded to share steps the school and the boy's parents are taking to ensure the student's safety.
The school's dealings with the NHS were also discussed, specifically details about students' contact with local Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
The staff member disclosed that one of the students is not on any medications for their mental health and speculated whether they are receiving any therapy, saying: 'I don't know if he is receiving any kind of CBT or anything'.
Issues between peers were addressed too - he gave details of conversations between parents and pupils, saying some had banned their children from contact with another pupil.
He even revealed one student's sexuality.
The phone conversation was held in a busy train carriage with multiple other people in the vicinity. MailOnline's reporter witnessed the discussion for 10 minutes before leaving the train - but the conversation had not ended at this point.
Boys at Harrow School were identified by first name and age group during the conversation as intimate details of their health and wellbeing were discussed on a public train
Safeguarding policies are designed to keep children safe and monitor those deemed at risk of harm from any kind of danger
