Broomlands paedophile PTA head given free reign of school

Mar 1 2013 by Ross Dunn, Irvine Herald

PTA paedophile Paul Archer had free run of Broomlands Primary school, angry parents claimed this week.

Archer, jailed for three years this week after being caught with more than 11,000 sickening child porn images, was allowed to chaperone pupils on school trips and helped run the school’s football team, parents claimed.

Shocked mums and dads also say he was left unsupervised to take photos of pupils for a school calendar.

Education bosses at North Ayrshire Council denied this claim and insisted he did not take part in any school activity, or have access to the school, once he had been charged.

Concerned parents told a different story about the former PTA head, claiming he was given free run of the school.

One parent, Stephanie Greer, whose child is eligible to join the school’s Primary One class in the summer, says the incident has made her re-consider her options. “Daisy is at the nursery at the moment but the way the school has acted over this has left me disgusted and made me think I should take her to a different school.”

Linda Beveridge is a neighbour of Mr Archer.

“I’m absolutely sickened by all of this.

“I have a 10-year-old at Broomlands and everyone knows the amount of access he had in that school – your mind goes into overdrive thinking and wondering what he’s been up to.”

Tracey Hargreaves has a 15-year-old daughter who attended Broomlands during Mr Archer’s tenure.

“It’s astonishing that we’ve been kept in the dark for this long.

“The school just seems to be trying to brush this all under the carpet – it really isn’t good enough.”

Alex Collins has two boys at Broomlands. He said “Our kids have got to live with this forever, it should never have happened in the first place.”

Cheryl Cunningham is also disappointed with the way the school has handled the incident. “They handed a folded letter – not even in an envelope – to our children to give to us. It’s lucky that my son didn’t open it up and read it. The whole thing is sickening, the school has failed us as parents – he had no disclosure to go on the PTA and had free rein in the school.”

She added: “If he was never ‘unsupervised’ then why was he alone with the kids taking school photos without disclosure?”

A spokesman for North Ayrshire Council said: “PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) assessments are required for individuals who have regular unsupervised access to children. Parent Council members do not have unsupervised access to children and staff or parents were always in attendance whenever Mr Archer had contact with pupils in the school.

“Mr Archer was not involved in the production of the calendar in question and did not take part in any school activity, or have access to the school, once he had been charged. Strathclyde Police have confirmed there is no suggestion that any photographs he may have taken in his role as a parent of a child at Broomlands Primary - or as a member of the Parent Council - featured in this inquiry.” And the spokesman concluded: “The council has worked closely with Strathclyde Police throughout this investigation to ensure Broomlands pupils were kept safe.”