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I guess it’s almost inevitable with the news cycles we have today that a major story about SC UK hit the headlines a few hours after the December Newsletter was issued.
‘Peter Bennett-Jones, chair of Save the Children UK, is to step down early from the post after making comments to staff that could be seen as being at odds with the charity’s review of its working culture.
Bennett-Jones, who has been a trustee of the charity since February 2015 and chair since September 2015, had planned to stand down from the role later in 2019, according to a statement from Save today, but decided to bring forward his departure to January after an investigation into comments he had made at a meeting with staff.’
And in the Times behind their paywall:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/save-the-children-head-peter-bennett-jones-quits-after-staff-protests-sjw7jfqw8The stories appeared on the internet at 1am on Saturday morning the 22nd of December, which I expect means they were in a press release embargoed until midnight, and our automatic electronic newsfeed picked the stories up when they were issued. We finished the copy of our festive newsletter on Tuesday this week, and I decided to issue it on Friday evening to try to gain the maximum readership over the weekend. The timing of these events was purely coincidental, and obviously had the news broken before the newsletter was issued it would have been included as a major news story about SC UK.
I would not be in the least surprised if alumni want to comment on this story. Please feel free to post away!
Just got the full text of the SC official statement:
Save the Children UK today announced that Peter Bennett-Jones is standing down as Chair of the charity in January.A spokesperson for the Board of Trustees of Save the Children UK said: ‘We on the Board are grateful for Peter’s passionate commitment to our important cause and his unwavering dedication as Chair over the past three years in steering the charity through some difficult times.’
Mr Bennett-Jones said: ‘It has been a privilege to work with the staff and supporters of Save the Children UK, helping millions of deprived and marginalised children to survive and thrive in some of the most hostile environments in the world. After three years as Chair, I believe a change will help the organisation best tackle the complex challenges it faces.’
Mr Bennett-Jones had planned to step down later in 2019 but brought forward his departure after an independent investigation into complaints about remarks he made during recent discussions with staff about the charity’s future direction.
The charity found his remarks could have been perceived as being at odds with the organisation’s response to a review of its working culture earlier in the year. Mr Bennett-Jones recognised this and has apologised for any upset he caused.
The Board of Save the Children UK said: ‘The Trustees do not doubt Peter’s support for – and commitment to – the charity’s continuing efforts to strengthen its culture.’
An interim chair will be appointed next month.
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