16/12/2013 South East Today

arrives on Friday. Can't wait! That's all from

Good evening. A Sussex secondary school has been strongly criticised

by the Government for inexcusable failings in the case of a teenage

pupil who was abducted by her teacher. It comes after a report

highlighted repeated mistakes in the case of Jeremy Forrest, who was

jailed in June for taking the girl to France ` and for sexual activity

with her. The Serious Case Review, reveals

that pupils' concerns about the relationship were ignored by

teachers ` and the girl's mother wasn't taken seriously by the Bishop

Bell School in Eastbourne. In a moment we'll be speaking live to its

head teacher, but first our Special Correspondent Colin Campbell has

this report. And if the maths teacher who had a

sexual relationship with an underage people, then add doctored her, but

it is claimed the school could have bridged then did it from happening.

Add actions being taken robustly and more promptly, it is very possible

the relationship could have been stopped earlier, and it is possible

the family and the young person would not have been through all the

upset and worry that was caused as a result of the abduction. It was an

abduction, seven days on the run in France, that attracted worldwide

attention. Today's report revealed she was the second pupil targeted by

that teacher. There were a number of missed opportunities by the teachers

at the school. It says staff repeatedly failed to see evidence of

misconduct. There was no evidence that staff tried to speak to the

schoolgirl in a way that was supportive. Concerns of pupils at

the school were repeatedly dismissed. It seems to me there were

a number of instances detailed in this report of other young people in

this girl's class expressing their concerns about what was happening,

but nobody seemed to hear them. Senior staff treated the teacher as

a victim and tour the schoolgirl as a problem. I don't care what you

have done, but I just want you home. The girl's mother is said to be

deeply concerned about the many missed opportunities to predict a

daughter. In Eastbourne, mixed reaction to the report. Hewlett

makes me feel worried, but I still think there are other sides to the

story that nobody hears about. It is worrying that you send your children

to school and beer not picking up on things. There were clear signals

they should have picked up on. I think there should be an independent

route where children can make their concerns known that is independent

of the closed ranks of the teachers. That would probably make

sense. The report says staff need to reflect on how they were deceived

and misled over a period of months by the teacher, described as an

unsophisticated, careless abuse. So today's damning report says staff

at the Bishop Bell School missed repeated opportunities to blow the

whistle on inappropriate conduct between Jeremy Forrest and his pupil

before he abducted her. The Serious Case Review highlights a series of

failings in child protection: It raises serious concerns about the

ways in which information was recorded stored, retrieved and

provided. Concerns about the relationship were raised seven

times, but none were investigated. The girl's mother was only spoken to

by a member of teaching staff two or three times in the seven months her

daughter was being abused ` on one of those occasions the person who

spoke to her was the abuser, Jeremy Forrest. Well, we're joined live by

the headteacher of the Bishop Bell School, Terry Boatwright. I know

you've apologised for your failings, but perhaps you could explain why

you and your staff repeatedly dismissed concerns about Jeremy

Forrest raised by pupils ` and the girl's mother? It is important that

essay at the beginning how sorry I am for the previous failings in 2012

identified in this review, and also that I apologise to the victim, her

family and all those involved but the impact this case has had them.

You mention not listening to the students and over the last 15

months, the review talks about how proactive the school has been. We're

not talking about the last 15 months, we are talking about this

case and this report today. You did not listen to your students, you

feel them. Not just the girl in this case and her mother, but pupils

repeatedly raising concerns and your repeatedly dismissing them. That

disappointed me. I have aware of that and as you say, this review

identifies that. The important thing now is that the school actually

makes sure it acts upon those issues. I can assure you the school

has reacted very robust Lee and very firmly in terms of putting in place

the recommendations of this review. We have processes in place now that

are exceptionally strong in terms of listening to the young person and

acting on it. You have a lot to do to convince parents and pupils that

they can trust you in matters of child protection. There are two

other cases, Robert Healey abused to pupils at the school and Canon

Gordon Rideout abused pupils at the school in the 1960s and 1970s. These

feelings had terrible consequences for pupils and their parents. The

50s and 60s and 70s are not related to this, but you're talking about

the job we have to do to reassure. The job we have to do is take action

to get this right, and the school has taken considerable and proactive

action, in terms of a new senior leader responsible for

safeguarding, in terms of restructuring the whole safeguarding

area, in terms of specialist training, additional specialist

training for staff in the fast`moving area of social media.

The schools minister himself has had some very strong words of criticism.

He says your feelings were inexcusable. I'm considering your

position? My job now is to support the school's headteacher and its

senior leadership team in terms of continuing the huge strides that

have been made to put in place the recommendations from this review,

and that is what I will do. Thank you very much for joining us. Boris

Johnson, the Mayor of London, has launched an 11th hour bid to keep

his vision of a hub airport in the Thames Estuary alive ` the day

before the Davies Commission is due to publish its short list for

airport capacity. Meanwhile, a former Conservative

transport minister has come out in favour of expanding Gatwick as the

first option. Our business correspondent Mark Norman reports.

Where planes and more passengers, but with passenger numbers predicted

to double by 2050, airports and the south`east will be for 20 years

before that. The airports commission believe we need more runway

capacity, but busy and set a hub airport in the Thames history. Have

you told reporters that his island is dead in the water? The report

will come out at 7am and then you will discover which options we have

short listed. I thought it was courteous to tell the major where we

were and what we would recommend, because obviously he is an important

participant. You are the front runners for the short bus? One

people it is a second runway at Gatwick. The owners have submitted

three possibilities. Further afield, that is the option of a third runway

at Heathrow or expansion of Stansted in Essex. Closer to home, it is hard

to find supporters for the airports in Kent. That raises the possibility

of a new hub airport in the Thames estuary. While Boris Johnson is

fighting hard to get that option onto the short bursts, he second

runway at Gatwick is winning over influential people deciding the

short list. Building that second runway at Gatwick is actually a

deliverable proposition, something I don't think be said for Heathrow. We

are now only if you owe us away from seeing the Davis commission short

list. Experts say we're many years away from a decision and even

further away from any new runway becoming operational.

And we will find out which options for airport expansion in the south

east have made the short list at 7am ` BBC Radio Kent will be

broadcasting live from the Isle of Grain, and you can follow

developments on your local radio station from six tomorrow morning.

In a moment, murder in Mombasa ` a Kent pensioner is found dead in

Kenya, and his girlfriend is arrested.

A man who killed his elderly lover and left his body to rot in a

Brighton flat has tonight been jailed for 18 and a half years.

Family of the victim have described Ricardo Pisano as an evil monster.

Michael Polding was found dead at his home in St George's road in July

last year ` it's believed he died in the May from multiple injuries. Our

News Correspondent Paul Siegert reports.

The killer was arrested almost a year after he attacked his elderly

boyfriend. It is believed Michael lay dying of his injuries for

several days. Horrendous, he is beneath contempt, totally. He is a

monster, just an evil monster. They had met three years earlier, after

Michael had and is at an advert, but the financial relationship turned

into a friendship and they moved into a flat in Brighton together.

Ricardo Pisano emptied the bank account, with money being the motive

for the murder. Starting with Ricardo Pisano, but he

also uses... Publicity followed. Ricardo Pisano was already known as

an international fraudster who had served time in New Zealand. After

hearing the Julie found guilty of manslaughter, Ricardo Pisano shouted

from the dock, I hope you sleep well, I am innocent. He then helped

his head and began to cry. I think it is dreadful what he did. He bled

Michael drive of his money and he has left to rot in his own home, and

that is unforgivable. Ricardo Pisano was sentenced to 18 and a half years

for manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and preventing them there for

burial of a body. He will be deported back to South Africa when

his sentence is completed. A retired teacher has been jailed

for eight years after grooming and sexually abusing pupils at a Sussex

private school more than 35 years ago. 70`year`old Christopher Jarvis

from Eastbourne admitted 14 charges of indecent assault and gross

indecency against ten teenage boys in the 1960s and 70s. The offences

took place while he was teaching at the now closed St Peter's Prep

School in Seaford. Thieves have attempted to steal two

cashpoint machines after smashing them with a digger in Maidstone

early this morning. The digger was found abandoned at the Tesco store

in Grovewood Drive North in Weavering just before four o'clock.

The front of the store was damaged. Police are investigating.

A murder inquiry is underway after a pensioner from Kent was found dead

in a house in Kenya. Peter Ironside, who was in his 70s, had run a

business near Folkestone and divided his time between the UK and Africa.

A suspect, believed to be his girlfriend, has been arrested.

Earlier, our correspondent told us how and when he was found. The last

time he was seen by friends was in a local bar on the 29th of November.

The following day his friends were concerned, because they did not see

him take his usual walk on the beach. At around 9pm on the 30th of

November, he was found by the caretaker at his apartment. He was

in his washroom. His hands had been tied up, he was hanging from his

hands with tape over his lips, and he was dead.

This is our top story tonight A secondary school in Eastbourne has

been strongly criticised by the Government for inexcusable failings

in the case of a pupil who was abducted by her maths teacher.

Jeremy Forrest was jailed earlier this year for taking the teenager to

France. A Serious Case Review found child protection mistakes were

repeatedly made by staff at Bishop Bell School ` a short time ago the

headteacher told us he'd made changes and learnt lessons from the

case. Also in tonight's programme, a shed

full of Christmas cheer ` how Brighton's beach huts are counting

down to the big day. It has been a wet stat to the

working week and it will stay wet and windy over the next couple of

days. Join me later for the details. It's difficult to keep up with the

pace of technology ` especially if you're trying to teach the subject

to school children ` but who better than Google, to help out? The

technology giant has got involved with a national scheme called Code

Club which is teaching computer programming at a school in Chatham.

The scheme was set up after concerns were raised by the Government that

we're not teaching technology well enough in our schools. Charlie Rose

reports. These days, it seems it is never too

early to learn how to programme computers. You have to drag it into

the script area to come programmed the computer to do stuff. I can

learn computer programmer when I runner`up. `` when I grew up.

The classes, Called Club, set up after criticism of the UK education

system by the Google Sheerman. Men with funding from organisations

including Google, they have funding for many schools across the country.

Completing challenges in big games, their learning a lot of the

challenges behind programming, but they don't realise it. We think

coding is an incredibly important school. It is not just important for

technology companies, it will be increasingly important for jobs with

ours and across other industries, so we want to get the next generation

of computer scientists here in the UK. If the children in Chatham can

emulate the success of the boffins shown in this film, could Britain

once again be a global force in IT, reigniting a strong heritage in

competing? In the 1980s, BBC microcomputer played a big part in

making computer mainstream in the UK and saw Clive Sinclair produced the

world's bestselling consumer computer. Since then, concern grows

that data competing skills are not being taught in our schools, but

there is hope now that quilting classes like these are the key to a

brighter technological future. `` holding classes.

Traditionally the seaside beach hut comes into its own for a few

glorious days in the summer ` and then spends the winter in

hibernation, waiting for the return of the sun. But they like to do

things differently in Brighton and Hove.

For the past six years beach hut owners along a stretch of the Sussex

resort have turned theirs into a giant Advent Calendar. Each day a

different door is opened to reveal a festive scene. Mark Sanders is in

Hove now ` do they do this whatever the weather?

They do it in the wind, breaking it in the rain and they do it in the

snow. Every night, one of these stories is flung open. They know the

part the stable played in the Christmas story, but here it is the

beach at that takes centre stage. At first glance, it may look like a

traditional Christmas celebration, but it is traditional with a twist,

with more than a touch of the local bohemia. These beach huts are

transformed each year to help the countdown to Christmas. It is an

advent calendar with attitude. They have been breaking the called on

calls seafront today to create a festive scene in their beach hut.

They are delighted to be part of this tradition. It has the creative

aspect of writing, the magical message of Christmas. The first day

they opened, Christmas is here. It is really part of Christmas around

here. The event has been going for six years now. Every night is

opening night during Advent, with a different beach at opening stories

to reveal a festive scene. There is something really cute about having

these little rooms, done up differently every single night.

Having a theme. You open the door and expectancy chairs and glasses,

but tonight, you get to see Christmas trees and presents almost

falling out of the beach hut. Is proving to be a popular event, with

people seeking it out. Perhaps there searching for something more sedate

in the rush to Christmas. I think people want to get away from the

commerciality of Christmas. That is something about getting away from

the shops, being on the seafront in the dark and quiet and seeing

something kind of magical but we have lost at Christmas. It is

unusual, it is unique, it is very Brighton and Hove. Look at these

hardy souls here and the result of all the hard work today. If you want

to find out where the beach huts are opening, check out their website.

The big question is, where is the giant chocolates?

Brighton was the only one of the South East's league clubs to win

this weekend ` and they left it late.

Gillingham and Crawley both had to be content with draws ` but

Charlton's dismal run continued with another defeat as Neil Bell reports.

They nearly got an early lead at Middlesbrough, but about the likely

until the minutes from full`time. Sadly for Charlton fans, it is of

rounds at the moment. They found themselves a goal down when a free

kick was deflected. Charlton were left to just one place above the

drop zone. We just have to focus on the next game. It has a tough `` it

has been a tough run for us. We do our best to turn it round. The one

thing any new manager wants is a good start at home, saw John Gregory

must've been dismayed when the Reds were two knelt down after just 16

minutes. But the tactical reshuffle led to a recovery. In stoppage time,

they grabbed an equaliser. The second half was one`way traffic. We

get the ball very well and the players worked tours of the

committed in everything they did. It was nice to give the fans something

to shout about in the second half. Chilling also got to a slow start

against Peterborough, but things got better after the break when this

free kick levelled things up. Chilling men took the lead, but

seven minutes into stoppage time, chilling were denied what would've

been a great win by this deft back heel.

Well, let's return to our top story ` that staff at a secondary school

in Eastbourne repeatedly missed opportunities to stop an

inappropriate relationship between the maths teacher Jeremy Forrest and

a teenage pupil before he abducted her.

The Government has seriously criticised Bishop Bell School after

a serious case review found staff ignored concerns about the pair

raised by other pupils and the girl's mother. Speaking earlier on

this programme the school's headteacher defended his actions. It

is important that essay at the beginning how sorry I am the

previous failings in 2012 identified in this review, and also that I

apologise to the victim, her family and all those involved by the impact

this case has had on them. Well, let's speak to our Special

Correspondent Colin Campbell. Colin, the school weren't the only ones to

be criticised in this report? That's right, the Serious Case

Review has also identified weaknesses with routine child

protection work with East Sussex county council and the initial

response from Sussex police to this case you'd been from child

protection team, but it wasn't, so the police and the local authority

are taking on criticism and putting forward new recommendations. The

school has clearly apologised for the mistakes. It accepts it not

properly investigate Jeremy Forrest. Let's see what the weather has in

store. It has been a miserable couple of days.

Yes, a wet start to the working week and it is going to stay that way.

Lots of cloud today, the rain has eased off a little bit. Temperatures

academically not too bad with highs of 11 or 12 degrees, but the wind

speeds have been picking up, so it is a blustery picture. Temperatures

and drink significantly cooler than they look. First of all, it will be

intensifying tomorrow morning. Heavy rain overnight. Lots of cloud cover

around, winds easing off, but temperatures only jumping to five

degrees or 60 trees. Mostly dry to sack tomorrow. More rain again as we

get to the first part of the afternoon and by the end of the

afternoon, increasingly try. Temperatures perhaps Corlett and

today. Those wins are only around five or ten miles an hour. Tonight,

outbreaks of rain, plenty of cloud cover. There might be some mist and

fog. Temperatures dropping to four or five degrees. We should be stay

frost free as we start the day on Wednesday. Windsor picking up on

Wednesday, gusting on the south coast. All of us seeing the strong

winds, and it will turn wet during the afternoon. It will feel much

cooler than 11 degrees. On Thursday, a wet start. The rain

eventually clears, showers behind it. Temperatures eight or nine

degrees. Mostly dry. Over the next couple of days, it will be always

pretty windy with heavy rain at times. Temperatures up to around

eight degrees nine degrees, but it will feel significantly cooler the

numbers suggest. I will be back with the 8pm and

10:25pm bulletins. Goodbye.