Statement from the HMC General Secretary following the publication of the IICSA report into abuse in residential schools

Upon publication of the IICSA report into abuse in residential schools, HMC General Secretary Dr Simon Hyde said;

“All HMC members thank the survivors of abuse for having the bravery to come forward and share their experiences. Without them, this report, its findings and recommendations would not be possible.

“The abuse outlined in the report and in the individual testimonies is horrifying and HMC fully endorses the recommendation that schools must accept that ‘it could happen here’, and in the case of harmful sexual behaviour between pupils we must work on the assumption that it probably is.

“The welfare and safeguarding of pupils is the absolute priority for schools and we fully support IICSA’s determination to strengthen this area of work. There has been strong progress made in recent years to keep our young people safe but more progress can be made.”