Semina Halliwell Inquest: Day Four

Day four - Semina Halliwell inquest – Thursday 16 January, 2025

A summary of evidence heard during the inquest into the tragic death of 12-year-old Semina Halliwell in Southport in 2021 at Bootle Town Hall 

NEIL MOORE (FORMER HEADTEACHER AT STANLEY HIGH SCHOOL)

Before joining Stanley High School in September 2020 Mr Moore said the school had received information from Semina’s primary school that was struggling with English and there were concerns about her feeling anxious in lessons so she was subject to an enhanced transition (additional support for children transitioning for primary to secondary school).

He said September 2020 had felt very different due to the Covid restrictions, but Semina had settled in well at the school and presented as a polite and very smart young lady.

He said the first concerns were raised about Semina at the end of September 2020 due to self-harming. He said he was aware of a further incident in October but that he was aware she was under CAMHS (children and adolescents mental health service).

He said apart from the episodes of self-harm, Semina was very popular and polite and achieving academically.

He said he was aware of social services involvement and an Early Help referral in October 2020 and said that the school had pastoral areas which were quiet spaces where meetings could take place.

He said the pastoral and safeguarding teams at the school met on a regular basis to raise concerns about any students.

After Christmas 2020 he said the staff had prepared for online learning (due to Covid restrictions). He said there would have been regular contact with any students there were concerns over and Semina would have been part of that group. He said mum Rachel had reported that online learning had been a struggle.

Mr Moore said in relation to online safety there had been e-safety assemblies and further information had been passed to families through the school Facebook page. He said there was also an online safeguarding tool on the website which could be used to report to the school and it would alert a member of the safeguarding team.

He said Semina had started remote learning but had difficulty accessing it and on 25 January had been offered a place at the school and had attended in person three days a week.

Mr Moore said he became aware of Semina’s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis on 14 February 2021 and that additional teaching assistant support had been available. He said once everyone had gone back to school in March a discussion was had how best to support Semina in school.

He said upon return to school on 8th March the children had been in bubbles and could not move out of their zones at the school.

On 11 March he said he was aware the school had been notified of Semina taking prescription medication. He said he should also have known about that and one of the points of learning that had since come out timely referrals.

He said the Head of Year 7 had received a telephone call from Rachel Halliwell on 15 March in relation to the allegation of sexual misconduct and she was advised to call the police.

He said Ms Fraser-Orr (deputy headteacher) had had a conversation about the measures in place at the school, such as the zonal systems, which he believed was sufficient to ensure Semina and the alleged perpetrator were kept apart.

When asked if any actions had been taken in relation to the perpetrator he said it had been discussed and he felt the measures in place were sufficient to keep the two apart which could be reviewed on a daily basis.

In relation to a report of indecent images being shared around the school by some pupils, including Semina, in April 2021 he said he and a member of the pastoral team had investigated it. He said the images were historic, of adult pornography and not of children and he said the images were deleted off Semina’s phone and other pupils and their parents contacted. He said if there had been an image of a child the police would have been contacted. He said at that time there was no significant child protection concern.

In relation to the matter of Semina reported to have had sex with another student he said a note would have put on the (school) records and that he knew Early Help were already involved. He said he had not been involved in any MASH (multi-agency safeguarding hub) meetings.

Under questioning by Miss Johnson, for the family, Mr Moore said he had ultimate responsibility for safeguarding.

In relation to an incident in January 2021 in which a naked photograph of Semina was being circulated he said neither child had been in school at the time in order to investigate the matter.

He said with hindsight as a school they should have followed it up to see if it had been logged with the police and that reliance should not be put on other people.

He was asked why, as it was such a serious criminal offence, that it was left to Rachel Halliwell to report it to police. He said it would have been a challenge to do it over the phone and the decision was it was for the police to investigate. He said the school would not investigate a criminal offence and risk tainting an investigation.

In relation to the enquiries into the indecent images which Semina (and other pupils) had shared he was asked if a more tailored approach should have been taken to Semina given her personal circumstances. Mr Moore said possibly but the matter had to be dealt with in a more consistent way. He said he did not believe the images shared would reach the threshold for a MASH referral.

He said the information would have been uploaded to the school’s computer system by pastoral staff. When asked if Brenda Jones (Semina’s Early Help worker) had been informed he said a meeting had taken place a couple of days later and he assumed the information would have been passed on. He agreed in Semina’s circumstance that social services would want to know about it.

In relation to the rape allegation he was asked if there had been any consideration under the school’s safeguarding policy to consider temporarily excluding (the boy) and he and he said that it had been considered.

He was asked if the other student had been reported to social services and he said he was fairly certain of social services involvement following the report. He said he was not aware of any previous allegations that had been made against the boy at the school or anywhere else.

When asked if there had been a formal risk assessment document at the school at the time he said there was not a standardised format but any risk was recorded.

The inquest resumes tomorrow, Friday 17 January.