Concerns have been raised that some misconduct allegations against teachers in Scotland are not being properly investigated.
New figures show 47 child protection and safeguarding referrals made to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) since 2019 have not resulted in full investigations.
The allegations were instead referred to local authorities for investigation.
However, critics claim that not all of the council’s investigations are up to date.
The GTCS, which has a duty to regulate teachers but not their employers, has also warned that a system that “relies on employers to get it right necessarily poses risks,” and calls for reform.
Concerns about local authorities’ investigations into teachers’ behavior came to the fore in the Scottish Borders Council’s case of Linda McCall, who was initially acquitted of wrongdoing but later found guilty of assaulting five vulnerable children.
Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie has urged the Scottish Government to ‘fill that child protection vacuum’.
He said: “There is a gap in the current protection and child protection legislation which means that although teachers are regulated through the AGBS, employers are the front line people to look at and no one regulates employers.
“This became clear in the recent Borders case. This lack of oversight is incredibly important if inappropriate restraint techniques continue to be used.”
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS) has written to both the GTCS and the Scottish Government on this issue and wants the national child protection guidelines to be updated to cover schools.
Nick Hobbs, Head of Advice and Investigations at the CYPCS said: “Children have the right to be protected from harm in all environments.
“We are concerned that current national child protection guidance focuses too much on harm caused in a family setting and does not adequately cover protection against harm in other settings, including schools.
“The Scottish Government should amend the guidance to ensure it is clear that children’s right to protection applies to all those with a duty of care, including in educational and institutional settings.”
Figures released under freedom of information laws show that a total of 47 referrals sent to GTCS between 2019 and 2021 that contained child protection or safeguarding concerns went uninvestigated.
The regulator made these decisions in contravention of its “threshold” policy for assessing whether the allegations have an impact on the individual’s suitability to teach.
The GTCS forwarded only one of the 47 reports to the police, but the regulator indicated that in each case it had informed the relevant councils.
However, some in the education sector believe the GTCS could do more.
BBC Scotland is aware of a case where a school headmaster sent sexually explicit online messages to multiple teachers across the country.
One of the teachers concerned contacted the GTCS to complain about their behavior but claimed to have been rebuffed by the regulator and eventually complained to the local headmaster’s office.
The teacher said her experience with the GTCS was “downright insulting”.
They added: “It came out that they weren’t concerned about my well being, the impact on the job or the way they can support me.
“I hung up with a sense of shame that no one took this seriously and with a better understanding of why people don’t report sexual harassment or sexual abuse complaints.”
The principal in this case has since been demoted but still teaches and is now subject to a GTCS investigation following a referral from the local authority.
A GTCS spokeswoman said her approach to eligibility to teach casework is that she is “targeted only where action is necessary and proportionate”.
She added: “As a result, not all referrals we receive are investigated by us. Best regulatory practice is that action should be taken locally first. We encourage all potential referrers to raise any concerns about a teacher with their employer.
“While we will always strive to improve our work, GTCS also believes there is an opportunity to clarify regulations in the system to improve public protection.
“We believe that more thought is required into how system failures are identified and how events where a system failure is present are managed.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said each council “is expected to put in place appropriate child safeguarding policies and procedures” to address any concerns raised.
He added that “GTCS recognizes that it has an important role to play in child and public protection” and that the national child protection guidelines “have an increased focus on children’s rights, engagement and working with families”.
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