Voice welcomes report on allegations against school staff

16 July 2009

Voice: the union for education professionals, which represents teachers and support staff, has welcomed the Children, Schools and Families Committee's Report Allegations Against School Staff published today (16 July 2009) although it has expressed regret that the report's recommendations on anonymity for those accused do not go far enough and that the role of social networking sites was omitted.

General Secretary Philip Parkin said: "We are pleased that the Committee has highlighted how teachers' careers can be blighted by false allegations.

"We welcome the recognition that head teachers can be too quick to suspend staff and the pressure on them to refer to local authorities. We are particularly pleased that the report calls for allegations to be dealt with 'speedily, effectively and justly', calls for more discretion for head teachers and for clearer government guidance, and recognises that barring suspended staff from contact with colleagues is an 'inhumane and unjust' practice.

"We also welcome the recognition that governors need more training for disciplinary hearings.

"The recommendations on deleting unfounded allegations from personnel records and assessing proposed disclosures of 'soft' non-conviction information are also welcome. It is totally unfair to reject applications for posts simply on the basis of unproven and possibly unfounded ‘soft' information.

"However, while we welcome the call to re-examine the 'arguments for and against a statutory right of anonymity for those accused', this does not go far enough. The time for 'examining arguments again' has passed. It is time for teachers and support staff to be given some basic rights and safeguards now. Among these should be the right to anonymity unless and until charged with a criminal offence. We had hoped that this would have been recommended in the report.

"This union has been calling for the necessary legislation to be introduced as soon as possible.

"Children need protection, but those who work with them, both teachers and support staff, are entitled to protection too.

"We know through our member casework that the lives and careers of innocent people have been ruined by false allegations of abuse, even after they have been acquitted of any offence. Being falsely accused and suspended can cause severe personal distress and long-term damage to the accused person's career. A large number of our members have left the profession and suffered damage to their health.

"Publishing someone's name in a newspaper because they have been accused of something but not charged is trial by media. A small paragraph on an inside page weeks later reporting that the charges have been dropped is not acceptable. Mud sticks.

"We are also disappointed that the Committee did not have time to examine the use of social networking sites to make allegations. This is a regrettable omission given the widespread use and popularity of these sites."

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