Investigation into school staff concerns complete

Orkney Islands Council has confirmed that an investigation into staff complaints regarding management at Stromness Academy has been completed.

Staff at the secondary school were also told yesterday, Monday, that the former headteacher, Hilda Learmonth, has retired.

In May, a letter from two-thirds of Stromness Academy’s staff, citing concerns about “outrageous bullying behaviour” at the school, was sent to OIC chief executive, Alistair Buchan.  This led to an investigation by external education advisor, John Stodter, who has now reported his findings.

Mr Buchan said: “At the start of the new school year, it is important that we let staff and parents know that the investigation has come to an end.”

“From the outset, we took the concerns raised very seriously. John Stodter is a highly experienced education adviser and his investigation has been thorough, fair and independent. Mr Stodter’s findings will now be carefully considered so we can assess what action is required to address the points he makes.”

According to the OIC, Ms Learmonth notified the council of her intention to retire under normal terms and conditions of service. The council agreed to this and she retired during the summer holiday period. The authority has stressed that no additional severance payments have been made to the retiring head.

The OIC’s executive director of education, leisure and housing, Wilfred Weir, added that once the authority had considered the report’s contents, he would ensure points raised were acted upon as quickly as possible.

Full story in this week’s The Orcadian