A PROFESSIONAL Care Unit has been established to offer emotional support to those affected by recent ‘concerns and experiences’ at Holy Name Convent in Port of Spain.
An update from the school’s board of management yesterday also advised that an ‘Independent Review Committee has now been formally established to conduct a fair, confidential, and structured review of matters raised in recent weeks’. The developments follow an independent review process announced recently by the school, in response to concerns and experiences shared by members of the school community and the wider public, a media release said.
Holy Name Convent was in recent weeks embroiled in a controversy that went public, over complaints directed at newly-appointed principal Sr Renee Hall. Yesterday’s release did not name Hall but stated that the Professional Care Unit was established after ‘recognising that the re-cent public discussion surrounding Holy Name Convent has generated strong emotions and varying reactions within sections of the school community’.
The Unit is intended to provide emotional and psychological support to those who may wish to access it.
Support services will be available to current students, faculty, staff, parents, and other members of the school community as appropriate, the school’s board stated.
‘Participation in all services will be voluntary and confidential,’ the release stated.
The school has engaged The Samaritan Movement, under the leadership of Fr Gerard J. McGlone, to provide these services.
The board noted that McGlone and his team ‘bring expertise in clinical psychology, trauma and loss, mental wellness, spirituality, evidence-based healing, and culturally rooted support’.
The Professional Care Unit will operate separately and independently from the Review Committee, and will ‘function with strict confidentiality’, the release stated.
The role of the Unit is not investigative in nature but rather to provide professional support and care to individuals who may benefit from such services during this period, it added.
Independent process The newly-established Independent Review Committee will operate independently of both the board of management and school administration.
The Committee will be responsible for reviewing submissions, identifying themes and patterns where appropriate, conducting interviews where necessary, and providing findings and recommendations to the board. The new body will also provide a report to the Holy Name Convent board following the confidential collection and review of data, the release said.
The Committee will be chaired by Vincent Pereira, ‘an experienced governance and leadership professional who will provide oversight and direction for the review process’.
Also serving as Committee members are Raphael Ajodhia, an attorney- at-law specialising in Industrial Relations, Civil and Corporate; Paula Moses, a retired Principal and respected educator with extensive experience in school leadership and educational administration; Frances Bain-Cumberbatch, attorney and senior corporate executive, who brings significant expertise in governance, compliance, corporate and commercial law as well as corporate affairs, the release said.
Also serving as a member is clinical psychologist Isolde Ali Ghent- Garcia, who specialises in psycho-diagnostic assessment, psycho-educational evaluation, and trauma-focused intervention.
The board stated that it was ‘grateful to these professionals for their willingness to serve and contribute their expertise to this important process’.
According to the release, in order to support the independent review process, the school has engaged Tunapuna- based Lucent Research to ‘confidentially collect and manage submissions’.
Individuals wishing to share concerns, experiences, or information relevant to the review have been invited to do so through the confidential submission portal, accessible at: https://www.dooblocawi.com/client/(S(qc3mlyvag1l1lgfqr0j1unqs))/Survey.aspx?Ticket=APOOWT4R
The release said ‘individuals wishing to make a submission are encouraged to utilise this formal process which provides an appropriate and confidential avenue through which information can be reviewed responsibly’.
The portal will remain open until July 10, 2026, after which the Committee will continue its review and intends to prepare a report for the board of management before the school terms begins in September.
The board said it ‘encourages all members of the community to engage respectfully with the process and to allow the Committee and Professional Care Unit to carry out their work independently and responsibly’.
