The following article by Gregg Lewis appears in Sec Ed
Incidents of suicide and attempted suicide by accused teachers, including some just days ago, have been highlighted at a conference addressing the subject.
Members of Falsely Accused Teachers and Carers are demanding fresh safeguards and the anonymity of the accused up until conviction.
They say urgent measures are needed to protect teachers from the “life-threatening” trauma of being accused of abuse. Speaking at the organisation’s spring conference on Saturday, Mike Barnes, national secretary of FACT, highlighted the number of teachers harming themselves after accusations.
He pointed to high profile cases such as those of David Baines, a north Wales support worker, and Alastair Wilbee, a headteacher on the Isle of Wight, who both killed themselves while under suspension.
“The trend of people looking to harm themselves once they have been accused seems to have been increasing,” he said. “In the days before our conference I know of two people falsely accused who attempted to take their own lives.
“The support systems that employers are supposed to put in place are largely non-existent. Accused people are told they can’t have contact with their place of employment or the staff that worked with them and they’re left totally abandoned.
“Although the government has said that people who are suspended should be given support, it rarely happens.”
The 200 conference delegates heard calls for schools to make health and safety risk assessments of false accusations. There was also widespread support for the accused to have anonymity right up to the point of conviction.
“In the main there seems to be an acceptance that anonymity should be provided up to the point a person is charged, that’s the position that the home affairs select committee and government officials have said there’s an arguable case for,” explained Mr Barnes.
“As far as we are concerned that doesn’t go far enough. We think anonymity ought to last at least for the duration of the trial. It would be even-handed, as invariably the complainant gets anonymity and we see no logical reason why that shouldn’t be extended to those that are actually accused.”
The conference heard that a trend for senior teachers, including deputies and heads, to be accused might relate to “pupils resisting change in the school”.
Mr Barnes added: “It may well be that, for some, raised expectations of pupils’ behaviour is creating a climate of resentment.”
Chris Keates, general secretary of National Association of School masters and Union of Women Teachers, said last week:
“It’s become common to have reported to me that children respond to teachers by saying, ‘I’m going to make an allegation against you and you will lose your job’. An allegation is seen as proof of guilt.”
Greg Lewis was a guest speaker at the F.A.C.T. Spring conference on the press and false accusations.