The Facts
A primary school teaching assistant was alleged to have made abusive, derogatory and racist comments about a pupil’s behaviour and the pupil’s mother and stepfather’s relationship at public gathering. The allegations also amounted to a potentially serious breach of the local authority’s child protection procedures which, if proven, could have led to a finding of gross misconduct resulting in instant dismissal of the teaching assistant from his post. The relationships between the school, the parents and the employee were placed under severe strain and the school sought to resolve the matter as swiftly as possible.
The Investigation
EdLex was able to provide an experienced solicitor to carry out a prompt and fair investigation of the matter under the school’s disciplinary procedures. The investigator carried out comprehensive interviews with the complainants: the child’s mother and stepfather. The allegations had originated from the stepfather’s grandmother who in turn claimed that she had received the information the stepfather’s aunt. Despite extensive efforts by the investigator, both the grandmother and aunt refused to co-operate with the investigation. This factor contributed in no small part to the investigator’s eventual finding that the allegations were baseless and that the employee had in fact been the innocent victim of a family dispute.