Northern Ireland

De La Salle caretaker cleared of assault has yet to return to work

Eileen Hall (middle) leaving Laganside courts in June after having a charge of common assault dismissed. Picture by Matt Bohill
Eileen Hall (middle) leaving Laganside courts in June after having a charge of common assault dismissed. Picture by Matt Bohill Eileen Hall (middle) leaving Laganside courts in June after having a charge of common assault dismissed. Picture by Matt Bohill

A SCHOOL caretaker cleared of by a court of common assault against a pupil is yet to be allowed a return to work.

Eileen Hall (58), from Colinbrook Park in Dunmurry had a charge dismissed at Belfast Magistrates court in June.

It related to an incident involving a 13-year-old boy at De La Salle College in west Belfast on October 14 last year, which was central to an escalation in tensions between staff and management.

Up to 15 of the 70-strong teaching staff called in sick on four separate days in one week in November.

As part of this dispute, teachers also stood in silence outside their classrooms for a short period in a show of solidarity with their disciplined colleague.

A supervisor/caretaker at De La Salle, who also helped serve meals before school at a breakfast club, Mrs Hall was employed by the school for 35 years.

She was suspended within hours of the incident in which it was alleged she had assaulted a pupil.

She is understood to have attended an appeal hearing against her subsequent dismissal at the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) last month, but this appeal was denied.

A spokesman for the Unite union said he was disappointed by the decision of the LRA panel.

"As a union, we are now pursuing any legal challenge that is open to us," he added.

The incident was referenced in a recently-published independent report into problems at the school, which concluded that a serious breakdown of working relationships impacted substantially on pupils.

An independent panel made 40 recommendations to resolve a "wide range of issues".

The three-person panel's report referred to Mrs Hall's case as a safeguarding incident which "became a significant turning point".

Flowing from this, the report read, there were several developments which "significantly disrupted the normal functioning of the school".

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) said work was "well underway in terms of implementing the recommendations".

A separate independent safeguarding review has been sought by CCMS and the board of governors. A body has not yet been confirmed to carry this out.

This external review will look at policies, practice, training and understanding in relation to safeguarding issues.

It will also look closely at a specific incident at the school that is understood to have taken place in 2013.

Catholic Church officials received three complaints about the visit of a priest to De La Salle College at that time. Details of a visit by the priest to the west Belfast school in 2013 were shared online with many parents expressing concern.