Sacked ‘superhead’ Derek Curran had ‘no excuse’ for delay in reporting historic child abuse, inquiry hears

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Former Castlebrae head Derek Curran was dismissed following an allegation that he had a child with a schoolgirl – an allegation which he denies.

The educator is accused of a string of serious failures dating back to 2014 when a young adult learner accused another teacher at the same school of sending her sexually explicit emails.

An internal investigation was launched into the inappropriate emails by a science teacher, Teacher A, during which Mr Curran was later named by the woman. She alleged he had a sexual relationship with her when she was just 15, and had his child after turning 18.

Over his handling of the claims the presenting officer said on Friday that Mr Curran should have taken “immediate steps” to notify relevant court agencies when he was notified of the allegations of historic child abuse.

Mark Cunningham, Mr Curran’s deputy at the time, said he notified the then-headteacher of the accusations against him on May 8, 2014, four months into the investigation into alleged sexual harassment offences by Teacher A.

Mr Curran, 61, disputed the date and claims he first heard of the abuse claim on May 14.

But the presenting officer said there was “no excuse” for the delay and stressed that Mr Curran himself had claimed he had the ‘highest level’ of child protection training.

READ MORE: Disgraced former ‘superhead’ denies failures over sexual abuse complaint

Mr Curran is also accused of failing to “properly conduct and progress” the investigation into sexual harassment claims, as the hearing heard that the explicit emails sent by Teacher A were “clearly grounds for gross misconduct.”

The presenting officer said there had been a “significant lapse of time and lack of any substantive progress” during the investigation.

Teacher A wasn’t informed of the claims of sexual harassment raised against him until April 2014, three months after the complaint was made by the young woman who was 24 at the time.

Mr Curran defended the delay on grounds that Teacher A was off sick for months following a stroke.

An internal school investigation led by his deputy and overseen by Mr Curran was still continuing six months later. He was later sacked by Edinburgh city council in 2015.

Senior education manager Karen Prophet, his line manager, was also dismissed after an inquiry into whether she acted robustly over allegations about him.

At the close of the first stage of the inquiry, the panel heard that Mr Curran’s decision not to report the investigation to human resources from the outset was a “clear example of failure to assess the seriousness” of the allegations and that he should have ensured support was offered to the alleged victim, including counselling.

It's also being examined by the panel if Mr Curran’s 2016 conviction for threatening or abusive behaviour makes him unfit to teach.

In January 2014, Mr Curran refused to leave a ward at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh where he placed two people in a state of alarm.

The hearing continues on Monday and Tuesday.

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