In a controversial move, the Education Act 2011 is due to introduce anonymity for teachers who are accused of crimes against students at their school, subject to limited exceptions, and up to the point at which they are charged with an offence. The new law means that teachers who have been publicly accused of acts such as child abuse against pupils, may not be named in subsequent proceedings, such as unfair dismissal claims in the employment tribunal.
Schools may be aware that fierce opposition from House of Lord peers and newspaper editors was levelled against the Bill when it was initially proposed. Some may be surprised to hear therefore that despite the heavy criticism, the legislation was still enacted. In order to justify its actions, the government has said that it aims to use the Act as a tool by which to protect teachers who have been erroneously and maliciously accused of offences against a pupil. However, commentators have cited statistics which show that only 2% of allegations are untrue. Concern therefore is that the new law will offer a layer of protection to abusers, behind which they can hide from allegations. It is also unclear why the offer of anonymity has only been made to teachers and not to other school employees such as teaching assistants, care-takers and administrative staff.
The date upon which these provisions are due to come into force is yet undecided however, when implemented, its effect will be far reaching. Journalists will inevitably be censored in what they can or cannot publish. As well as the ramifications for the press, the effect on schools should not be underestimated.
Best practice
In preparation, schools should ensure that where allegations are raised against teachers, robust policies and procedures are in place which ensure that the school does not fall foul of the Act and also that the provisions of the Act do not act as a barrier, allowing allegations to go undetected or unchallenged. Further, in an era dominated by social media, details published on websites such as Twitter and Facebook, will also be caught by the legislation. Schools must therefore ensure that related policies and procedures reflect what does and does not constitute acceptable use of ICT.
For further information, please contact Richard Hewitt on 0117 314 5320.
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