AN ACTING headteacher has been appointed at a Rhyl school while its head and deputy remain absent.

This concerns Christ the Word Catholic School, on Cefndy Road, where the head and deputy head were first confirmed as absent last Thursday (December 1).

In their absence, Bernadette Thomas has taken on the role of acting headteacher.

The school’s website lists its headteacher as Amanda Preston and deputy head as Joe White.

This week, a parent of a pupil at Christ the Word told the Journal of a lack of communication with parents about what they called “very worrying” issues at the school.

They added that no explanation has been offered regarding the absences of the head and deputy head, nor has it been communicated to parents how long they will not be in school for.

They said: “We got an email to say they were no longer in post. The interim head is Bernadette Thomas, but that is all we know.

“I want reassurance from the new interim headteacher that pupils are safe when they are in school. When they are on the school premises, the staff have a duty of care towards them.

“I’m just at my wit’s end with it all now, to the point that we are talking about finding a new school.

"It’s very worrying.”

A Denbighshire County Council spokesperson said today (December 8): “We can confirm Bernadette Thomas is the acting head teacher.”

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The parent added that their concerns about safety at the school come after an incident last month.

They said: “On November 25, all children were dismissed from school due to a water shortage.

“The first we heard that our children had been let out of school was when our child rang my partner in work to say they’d been sent home and were waiting by the shops, and could we pick them up.

“There was no message, phone call, or email from the school to inform us of this.

“When my partner picked our child up, there were about 20 children stood at the shops.

“Some didn’t have phones, so my partner took what children he could home.

“I’m utterly shocked at the safeguarding measures in the school. Why were we not informed?”

Responding, a Denbighshire County Council spokesperson added: “The school had to close for health and safety reasons due to a water issue which impacted the local area.

“There is a complaints procedure provided by the school that the parents can utilise if they wish to lodge a complaint.”

The school was put in special measures following an Estyn report published in July, after an inspection took place in May.

Last week, a council spokesperson told the Journal: “We can confirm that the head teacher and deputy head teacher are currently not in school.

"Additional support is in place to ensure the continuation of education and support for the whole school community."

When contacted, Christ the Word referred to the above comments made by Denbighshire County Council.