A quarter of school staff have been falsely accused by a pupil of wrongdoing, such as slapping or inappropriate sexual conduct, according to a poll by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). One in six teachers has faced malicious allegations from a pupil's family, and half of those surveyed said there had been at least one false allegation in their current school.
The findings come after classroom assistant Mark Ellwood, 46, was cleared of assaulting a pupil following a nine-month ordeal. Ellwood, who was fingerprinted, held in a cell, and banned from living with his own children, said he had been 'hung out to dry' by the authorities. He described a climate of fear in schools, where teachers are afraid to assert authority or discipline pupils.
Mary Bousted, the union's general secretary, described false allegations as a 'growing industry' blighting teachers' lives. She said allegations of inappropriate sexual contact, hitting a child, or unreasonable behaviour were common. While acknowledging that child protection is paramount, she argued for a streamlined initial process to identify meritless cases, stating: 'School staff have rights too.'
Experts say children may make false accusations over minor incidents, but for teachers, the consequences can be devastating. Suspended teachers cannot contact colleagues or enter the school during investigations, which can last weeks or months. Many never return, feeling a cloud hangs over them.
Ellwood's ordeal began when he asked a 15-year-old boy to remove his jacket and put away his phone. The pupil threatened to stab him and kicked him; Ellwood responded by gently sweeping the boy to the floor. He was charged with common assault, removed from his home by social services, and forced to sleep on a gym floor for two weeks. At his trial, magistrates told him to 'restart your life' and 'forget your nightmare'.
Bousted warned that serial false allegations 'can infect the whole teacher-pupil relationship', risking the authority teachers need to maintain order. 'We are not saying children do not have a right to make allegations – they must be safeguarded. But we think it has gone too far in the direction that if a child says something they are automatically believed,' she said.
