This article will look at one of the most upsetting things that can happen to a music teacher: a malicious accusation made by a child. If you find yourself in this situation, what should you do? What support can you expect from your school, hub or setting? And how can your trade union help you?
Music educators in the UK now operate in a climate of heightened awareness of safeguarding issues. This is undoubtedly a good thing, but it can also lead to the severe treatment of teachers by school leaders, who may fear reprisals for not acting strongly enough when a safeguarding concern is raised.
What sort of acts can be alleged by children? They range from a misguided pat on the hand or a tap on the head with a book, through to safeguarding incidents like a teacher giving his or her personal information to a pupil. Any allegation has the potential to be troubling and sensitive, though teachers should guard against allegations by keeping up to date with safeguarding training and the policies and procedures of their workplaces.
A lengthy process
Once an allegation has been made, the school will contact the teacher, leading to an initial meeting with the school's safeguarding officer and a senior manager. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important that you listen and try not to say too much immediately. MU members should contact us at this point.
Unless the school decides to drop the matter, it is normal for an investigation to be triggered as a next step. This involves the school attempting to establish what has happened, and a suitably independent member of the school's staff should be tasked with this. While this gets under way, the teacher may be allowed to return to work, but a ‘neutral suspension’ is also common. For employed teachers, this should mean suspension on full pay until the matter is resolved, and the MU can help if pay is denied. Unfortunately for self-employed teachers, suspension is usually unpaid.
Many schools will also contact the local authority designated officer (LADO) when an allegation is made. It is debatable whether this is necessary given the minor nature of some allegations, but many schools do this as a matter of policy to limit their own liability. Worryingly, this means that the police are often called over the smallest of unsubstantiated allegations, which then requires a police investigation to be carried out before the school's investigation can continue. This can sometimes take six months or more.
Once any police involvement has been resolved, an investigation meeting should be held by the school. The teacher has a right to be accompanied at this by a trade union representative who will scrutinise the process and ensure transparency and fairness. This should lead to the school reaching a verdict, and it is important to note that proof is not required for this, as would be the case with a criminal prosecution. Rather, the school is only required to show there is a reasonable probability that the alleged incident took place.
After an initial verdict
Hopefully, exoneration will follow, allowing for a return to work. If not, a disciplinary hearing will be held, where trade union representation is again a statutory right. The school will defend the outcome of its investigation, and the teacher and union rep will be required to put forward any mitigating factors. An independent adjudicator, for example a school governor, will decide on a penalty ranging from a formal warning to dismissal. The teacher has a right to an appeal hearing if they cannot accept this, and a tribunal is a further option if a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached.
The above is a very brief summary of what can happen when an allegation is made against a teacher, and the reality is often considerably more complex. It is important to note that when the alleged incident has in fact taken place, a union's role is to ensure fairness of process and prevent an overly punitive outcome, not to deny facts. However, it is the MU's experience that many allegations do not stand up to scrutiny, and it remains an important part of our work to defend our members against these.
In conclusion, teachers should try to prevent allegations by keeping up to date with training and best practice. If an allegation arises, they should get in touch with the MU and benefit from the support and advocacy we provide.
