‘No indication’ that Brianna Ghey’s killer posed danger

The inquest is examining whether the risk to Brianna could have been foreseen, and whether Birchwood High School was an appropriate place to manage Jenkinson given her past behaviour.

In a statement to the inquest on Friday, Birchwood High deputy safeguarding lead Angela Clark said Jenkinson was described by Culcheth High School as “a good student who had made a mistake”.

She said Birchwood High did not conduct a risk assessment about Jenkinson, who had seemed “quiet and reserved”, because they did not think her behaviour suggested she posed a risk.

Fiona Cowan, head of children’s safeguarding at Warrington Council, said a review of the case had found the managed transfer of Jenkinson from Culcheth to Birchwood had been carried out within Department of Education guidelines but could have been more robust.

It had recommended future school transfers be carried out with a multi-agency approach – rather than just by schools – using information from mental health and other organisations.

The inquest previously heard that, in September 2022 while a pupil at Culcheth High School, Jenkinson had given a sweet containing cannabis to a student, who became ill and was taken to hospital.

Jenkinson was later transferred to Birchwood High, which had not been told that the student who took the sweet was taken to hospital and were not aware that police had been contacted.