School blasted over handling of missing Megan Stammers case

Eastbourne school under fire from charity for safeguarding children while school reveals it had been investigating the affair for seven months

A charity has blasted the school of missing Megan Stammers, who fled abroad with her maths teacher, over its safeguarding record.

Lucy Duckworth, from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said of Bishop Bell C of E school in Eastbourne: 'Policies are still not in place to foster a culture where safeguarding is a priority as it should be in any institution where adults act in loco parentis.'

This comes three years after Robert Healy, who was a PE teacher at the school, was jailed for seven years after having a relationship with two pupils he contacted on social networking site Bebo.

The school has defending its record, confirming they had been investigating the relationship of Stammers and her 30-year-old married teacher Jeremy Forrest for seven months.

Terry Boatwright, executive head teacher at the school, said: "Bishop Bell School has a robust safeguarding policy in place, takes safeguarding very seriously and the effectiveness of its safeguarding procedures is rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted."

Police have released CCTV images of the pair holding hands on a ferry from Dover to Calais on Tuesday.

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