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Owner of Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, where headmaster Julian Johnson-Munday sacked for ‘gross misconduct’, files serious incident report to Charity Commission




The owner of a Suffolk independent school which has seen its headmaster sacked for ‘gross misconduct’ has filed a serious incident report to the Charity Commission.

The Methodist Independent Schools Trust (MIST) owns Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, which announced on Monday that Julian Johnson-Munday had been dismissed from his role following an independent investigation.

A letter to parents said the probe, conducted by an independent lawyer, found he had breached a number of the school’s internal policies and his actions constituted ‘gross misconduct and a breach of trust that was incompatible with his leadership role’.

Culford School
Culford School

The allegations did not concern pupils.

A spokesman from MIST said: “This was not a decision taken lightly and we are all saddened by it. However, his actions rendered his remaining in position untenable.”

Earlier today, SuffolkNews approached the Charity Commission to ask if any issues had been raised regarding the school or trust.

Culford School's former headmaster Julian Johnson-Munday
Culford School's former headmaster Julian Johnson-Munday

This evening, a Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We can confirm that in line with our guidance, the Methodist Independent Schools Trust has filed a serious incident report relating to a former employee at Culford School.

“We have engaged with trustees on this matter and are assured that appropriate steps are being taken by the charity at this time.”

Mr Johnson-Munday had been suspended earlier this year while an investigation was carried out, followed by disciplinary and appeal processes.

Culford School wrote to parents in January to inform them that he would be absent from the school for a short period for personal reasons.

A school spokesperson said they would be reporting the matters in full to all the relevant regulatory bodies and authorities.

Claire Bentley, who has been acting head since January, will take on the role of interim head until a permanent head is appointed.

The letter on Monday, from Mark Donougher, chairman of governors, said: “We recognise that this has been an unsettling time for our community and we are sorry for the frustration this has caused.

“However, the investigation, disciplinary and appeal processes took time to complete. As we are sure you will appreciate, it would have been both inappropriate and prejudicial to communicate about these matters until these processes had fully concluded.”

The recruitment process to appoint a new headmaster will be initiated shortly, led by Mr Donougher and a subcommittee of the board of governors.

Rory Parker will become acting head of the prep school and Victoria Steers becomes head of pre-prep.

A school spokesman said: “We are saddened by this decision which was only taken after a thorough investigation and a rigorous disciplinary and appeals process.

“The allegations under investigation neither concerned pupils nor have they impacted the school’s financial position which remains robust.”

SuffolkNews asked the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) if it was now involved in looking at what has happened at Culford School, had been informed of the issues or if Mr Johnson-Munday’s dismissal would trigger an inspection of the school.

An ISI spokeswoman said there were two main groups of inspections – routine and non-routine.

Non-routine inspections include those which can be triggered, in part, by events at a school or by a number of other factors.

The Department for Education (DfE) decides which schools should undergo a non-routine inspection and then commissions ISI to undertake them.

The DfE receives concerns about schools and use these, along with other information, to decide on non-routine inspections.

The ISI spokeswoman said they couldn’t comment on any of the inspections that the DfE had asked them to undertake.

All inspection reports are published on ISI’s website, about five weeks after the inspection has taken place.

When the DfE was asked if it had been informed about Mr Johnson-Munday, it said the Teaching Regulation Agency did not comment on individual cases, including confirming whether a referral has been received in relation to an individual.