Handling Allegations Against School Staff – Teachers

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Handling Allegations against School Staff

Allegations against school staff can come from a variety of sources and all allegations, regardless of source, must be treated seriously and consistently.  All allegations will be handled under the relevant policy which might include Managing Discipline, Managing Performance or GTCS Code of Practice on Teacher Competence.

This section will be of interest to you if:

  • You are a manager in a school and have received a complaint about a member of staff
  • You are an employee in a school and a complaint has been made against you
  • You are interested in how we handle allegations against school staff

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I have received a complaint against a member of school staff, what do I do?

As soon as you have sufficient information, you should advise the employee about the allegation that has been made against them.  You should, if possible, attempt to deal with this informally first by asking the employee to respond to the allegation.  You will then need to make a determination as to whether a formal investigation is required.

I think this needs a formal investigation, what do I do?

Please refer to the guidance attached on Handling Allegations which gives a brief overview on the investigation process.

For more information on investigations procedure click here, however, please visit the Managing Discipline page which details the role of an investigating officer, how to conduct a good investigation and how to write an investigation report.

You may also benefit from attending training, even if you have not yet been assigned an investigation. 

Investigation training takes place every month and can be booked here

Once the investigation has been completed, a recommendation must be made on whether or not the investigation progresses to the next stage and of which policy.

What formal procedure should I recommend we follow?

It depends on the nature of the allegations but common procedures might be Managing Discipline, Managing Performance or GTCS Code of Practice on Teacher Competence.

Suspension

Please refer to the Managing Discipline pages for more information on suspension or alternative to suspension and where these are appropriate.

Dealing with False and / or Malicious Allegations

Where you have determined that the allegation made against the employee was false and was done so with malicious intent, you may need to take action.

If this was done by a pupil, disciplinary action must be considered in line with the nature of the incident and also the pupil’s age and understanding.

If the complaint was made by a parent or other member of the public, then advice should be sought from Legal about next steps.

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