Nearly six months since law enforcement began looking into reports of alleged misconduct toward students at Red Bay Primary School, the investigation “is still ongoing”.
One week after the fall midterm break, the acting principal remains Ryan Dale, in place of longtime principal Vickie Frederick, a Ministry of Education spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
On 7 May, the Ministry and Department of Education Services issued a press release stating that the joint Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) — comprising the police and Department of Children and Family Services — had been contacted about allegations at Red Bay Primary and that staff reported to be involved were being “relocated from schools until the investigation is completed“.
As we did in June, July and September, we asked police and education officials questions, including:
- Is the investigation still ongoing?
- If the investigation has concluded, what are the findings and what actions were taken?
- Has the file been submitted to prosecutors, or will it?
As they have before, education officials confirmed the investigation continues.
For legal and ethical reasons, the Current has not published the details of the alleged misconduct at Red Bay Primary. However, the situation has sparked questions about the role (and regulation) of religion in local public schools.
In late June, the Current published an analysis of written guidelines and rules (or lack thereof), finding that, “it appears that school leaders have broad discretion in terms of the promotion or display of religion within Cayman Islands government schools”.