Ei-iE

More than 1,700 staff in UK schools were accused of misbehaviour by parents or pupils last year.

Despite the large number of complaints, only a small percentage of the complaints merited police investigation and an even smaller number concluded in a conviction.

The data, revealed by the Ministry of Justice, shows that 50 percent of complaints alleged physical assault or "inappropriate restraint" which led to 143 of those accused being dismissed or resigning.

These numbers are set against a context of more than 800,000 classroom staff, plus hundreds of thousands of other employees and volunteers who work for schools or with school children.

Commenting on the figures, the National Union of Teachers General Secretary, Christine Blower, stated that most allegations against school staff were false or even malicious, made when teachers intervened to restore good behaviour at school.

“Teachers must be allowed reasonable powers of intervention for those rare occasions where dangerous situations escalate, without being at risk of accusations,” Blower said.

“Teachers and other school staff are sometimes uncertain of school procedures, so we would like to see a renewed focus on school level training, to ensure that procedures keep pupils safe but are also fair to staff."

“We welcome the Government's review of safeguarding. It is right to have robust systems, but the net must catch those who could be a real danger, without dragging innocent staff into months or even years of fighting to prove their innocence," concluded Blower.

EI President Susan Hopgood said: "Teachers should be protected from the damage that malicious allegations can cause. Measures must be taken to protect against false accusations because rumours and malicious gossip about innocent teachers can ruin careers."