law, less ordinary - legal opinions from Browne Jacobson » teachers

Teachers, social media and lack of government guidance

gemmai — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:06:05 +0000

Teachers, pupils and social media - it was only a matter of time before this became a serious issue. 43 cases before the GTCE last year may not sound high, but how many more inappropriate relationships are being formed across schools, academies and the FE sector? Which begs the questions, why have we not seen Department for Education guidance specifically aimed at helping manage staff expectations and promote a consistent, measured approach nationally?

There is evidence of big differences in approach to the use of social media amongst schools- some ban teachers using the sites altogether, some allow restricted usage and others have barely considered the issue. And it needs to be looked at not only from a ‘friending’ point of view, but also to consider issues like appropriate privacy settings and profile pictures which, regardless of friending, can be accessed by pupils, parents and colleagues alike.

I hate to press for even more guidance in our sector, but this is an area where it seems schools need help.

Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises in safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in education, social care and health settings; defending claims against education, social care and health providers.

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

Fair to dismiss in a term?

gemmai — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:53:22 +0000

The Government has today made a long overdue announcement following their consultation on changes to the Teachers’ Performance Regulations. The announcement confirms that the Government are going to remove a lot of the previous restrictions on schools to dismissing ‘underperforming’ teachers. The model policy that was consulted on combines performance management with capability and envisages dismissal for routine cases within a term. As part of the recommendation, the period teachers are given to improve could be as short as 4 weeks.

It will be up to individual schools to review their policies from September in light of the recommendations of the Government. Schools seeking to put this robust approach into practice should be mindful that the ultimate test is not the word of Mr Gove but that of the Employment Tribunal. Whether a Tribunal would consider the government’s timetable to be fair remains to be seen.

Posted by Heather Bragg, who specialises in contentious and non-contentious employment matters including; contractual issues, unfair dismissal, redundancy and all areas of discrimination.

Heather Bragg
0115 976 6553
hbragg@brownejacobson.com

Plans for elite ‘master teacher’

gemmai — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:49:59 +0000

A government commissioned independent review has suggested the introduction of a new “Master Teaching Standard” for more experienced staff. This would see the current system of rewards and standards replaced with a single “Master Teacher Standard”.

A clear set of minimum standards would be set out which would highlight any teachers that are underperforming. To attain the new “Master Teacher” grade, teachers would have to meet five new standards that require high performing teachers to have wide-ranging knowledge of their specialism, command of the classroom, excellent planning and organisational skills, amongst others.

The aim of these prospective changes is to improve teaching standards in schools to attract the very best teachers to the profession, with promotions and pay benefits. This proposal has divided opinions, especially the potential alienation of primary teachers where a specialist subject is required. The government will now consider how the suggestions may be implemented.

Laura Richards
0115 976 6249
lrichards@brownejacobson.com

Are disruptive students about to increase?

Hannah — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:23:22 +0000

The Department for Education (“DfE”) yesterday published statistics for 2009/2010 in relation to the number of pupil exclusions. The statistics show that 5,740 pupils were excluded permanently from primary, secondary and special schools during this period with there being as many as 331,380 fixed period exclusions. The DfE calculate that 900 children a day are suspended from school for abuse and assault.

The Coalition government has pledged to improve behaviour and academic standards and in response to the statistics, Nick Gibb has expressed concern that weak discipline remains a significant problem in schools. However, in light of the Education Bill, which will make it easier for head teachers to exclude disruptive students and give teachers increased powers to search students, we are likely to see a spike in these statistics come 2011/2012.

Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in education, social care and health settings; defending claims against education, social care and health providers.

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

What’s happening to teacher discipline?

Hannah — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:41:27 +0000

Following the abolition of the General Teaching Council for England, (GTCE), a consultation document detailing proposed changes to the teacher disciplinary and induction regulations have been released.

As well as dispensing with a register for teachers, another of the proposed features is for employers to decide which cases of ‘serious misconduct’ to refer to the Secretary of State. It is proposed that a new teaching agency will act on behalf of the Secretary of State to undertake the day to day administration of the regulatory processes.

At present all dismissals and issues of misconduct are referred up to the GTCE, who then decide what action to take. If the proposals go through, anything less than the referred cases of ‘serious misconduct’ will be dealt with by the schools themselves. Schools will undoubtedly need guidance on what cases should be referred and how to manage the cases they will be expected to deal with on their own turf.

Hayley Roberts
0115 908 4862
hroberts@brownejacobson.com

Teachers’ strike – Gove backs parent volunteers

Hannah — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:52:59 +0000

In a move that has been highly criticised by teaching unions NAHT and the ATL, Michael Gove has suggested parents could step into the void left by striking teachers this week.

As well as appearing contradictory to the coalition line that teaching should be undertaken only by well trained and well resourced teachers, Mr Gove’s comment seems to cut through the fabric of the safeguarding measures put in place in schools over the last 10 years.

Under the current guidance a CRB check must be undertaken on volunteers with unsupervised access to children. Heads and Principals should also consider the suitability of each volunteer and consider getting references before allowing them to undertake volunteering duties.

Whilst Mr Gove has not suggested that the statutory guidance should be ignored for the purposes of the strike, perhaps it does hint at the government’s softening approach to safeguarding generally. Further amendments to Part 5 of the Protection of Freedoms Bill could follow…

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

Use of force in the classroom

Hannah — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:45:29 +0000

The government has announced that it will clarify the law on the use of force in the classroom. New guidance will explicitly say that teachers can use force to physically remove disruptive pupils from the class or prevent them from leaving the room to maintain discipline. Head teachers will also be given more powers to search pupils, not only for weapons, but also for drugs, alcohol and mobile phones. Teaching unions have broadly welcomed the proposals. However, teachers will only be able to use reasonable force so the decision on whether physical contact is legal will ultimately remain with the courts, potentially still leaving teachers vulnerable to allegations of assault.

Posted by Mark Blois
0115 976 6087
mblois@brownejacobson.com

BNP teacher ban 'to be examined'

Browne Jacobson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:40:46 +0000

Ed Balls has asked Maurice Smith, the former chief inspector of schools, to review provisions designed to prevent racism in schools.

Mr Smith’s report will examine existing safeguards and, controversially, consider whether association with organisations that promote racism should be grounds for barring someone from teaching. Teacher’s union NASUWT backed the commitment “to keep racism and BNP activity out of schools”. Whilst many people will support a zero tolerance approach to racism, is there not a risk of promoting sympathy for BNP members?

It will be interesting to see whether the report’s recommendations are radical enough to suggest an automatic bar.

Posted by Mark Blois
0115 976 6087
mblois@brownejacobson.com