THE Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Nigel Williams, today welcomed the settlement of the Cabin Hill Preparatory School abuse case in the High Court.

6 June 2005 News

“I welcome the announcement that the legal case against Campbell College has been settled without the abused young person having to go through the ordeal of a trial,” he said.

The Commissioner’s office has been supporting the family in this case for some time in their attempts to highlight child protection failures which emerged within the boarding department at Cabin Hill.

“We echo the family’s call for all the recommendations of the Cabin Hill Inquiry Report to be implemented by the school,” said Mr Williams. “And we hope that the report can provide the basis of a positive way forward for Campbell College now the High Court case has been settled.”

The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People said he believed that the traumatic circumstances of this case has provided an opportunity to help improve child protection in all of Northern Ireland’s boarding schools.

“We have supported the actions of the family to bring closure to this case, and commend the courage of all those involved,” he said. “However, for us this is only the start of the process to look at child protection within boarding schools.

Mr Williams continued: “We hope this case settlement will not only bring closure and justice for the young person concerned, but also bring about positive changes to prevent similar cases in the future.”

Notes for Editors:

Further information on the role and work of The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People can be found at www.niccy.org.