Member News
15th March 2010Manifesto briefings: 1: Fair treatment of staff subject to abuse allegations
In the first of a series of briefings on Voice's election manifesto, we look at 'Fair treatment of staff subject to abuse allegations, including a statutory right to anonymity and an assurance that the outcome of internal or police investigations is fairly and accurately recorded'.
Voice: the union for education professionals believes it is time for teachers, and support staff, who have been subject to allegations, to be given some basic rights and safeguards, including the right to anonymity unless and until charged with a criminal offence.
We would like to see justice for teachers and support staff, rather than trial by rumour and trial by media. 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, might be 'in the public domain' but does not undo the harm caused by the first report.
Fair allowance needs to be made for the context in which teachers and support staff work, and their increased vulnerability to malicious or mischievous allegations made without any supporting evidence.
An investigation is rightly triggered in situations where an allegation is made, but by the time no evidence has been found, the damage has already been done to the accused's professional and personal reputation. Mud sticks.
Voice is not alone in being able to provide casework evidence of numerous innocent teachers and support staff who have had their careers and personal lives damaged beyond repair as a result of allegations being made against them for which the subsequent investigation has found no evidence whatsoever.
Children need protection, but those who work with them, both teachers and support staff, are entitled to protection too.
For further information, including Voice's evidence to the Allegations Against School Staff inquiry by the House of Commons' committee on children, schools and families, go to: www.voicetheunion.org.uk/allegations
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.