BOND LEGAL

Bond Legal provided legal advice to a Primary School which had received several complaints from staff under its Whistleblowing Policy.

The complaints raised a number of wide-ranging allegations about the conduct of the Headteacher (‘H’)– including allegations of bullying, safeguarding concerns and loss of confidence.

H, in turn, raised a grievance alleging bullying and discrimination against a number of staff members and Governors at the School. H was suspended to allow an investigation to take place, both into the whistleblowing concerns and the grievance.

The School required legal advice about how to handle what was a difficult and sensitive situation. As a result, we produced a detailed written report for the School which addressed several issues, including:

• how the School could progress its investigation when H was medically unfit to participate in meetings;
• how the School should address a wide-ranging Data Subject Access Request from H, involving millions of documents;
• whether the School could enter into a Settlement Agreement with H, in view of the statutory guidance for Schools and Colleges, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’;
• what information the School ought to provide to the whistleblowers in response to their concerns, and when such information should be provided;
• the appropriate procedure to be followed in addressing H’s grievance;
• an assessment of the risks involved in progressing disciplinary action against H and the risks of any claims that H may bring against the School; and
• whether H should be referred to the Disclosure & Barring Service and/or the Teachers Regulation Authority.