Male School staff inappropriate behaviour towards DD

It's even worse that this person is targeting children with SEN. It's great your dd felt able to report it.

OP, well done to your dd to share this with you. Did she give this male teacher her phone number? Did she show him pictures of her doing her hobby? What did he say if she refused to share her number or photos?

What is the nature of 1-2-1 engagement here? Normally that happens only with Education Mental Health Practitioners or similar emotional support staff or peripatetic music lessons.

Obviously all contact 1-2-1 must be ceased between your dd and him.

As a teacher any accusations against members of staff require us to go straight to the headteacher. Is this who you went to? If not I would report again to them just so that there are no opportunities for the investigation to go wrong or be brushed under the carpet by someone else that isn’t used to dealing with this kind of thing.

In my school it would go to lado to be investigated and depending on evidence they would either be suspended while investigated or if they stayed in school it would be arranged that there was always another member of staff in the room with them during the investigation.

The amount of training regarding safeguarding in schools there is no way on earth he didn’t know. Whatever the reason she is with him alone needs to stop. Don’t know if it is just an extra curricular or obligatory she has to do but she needs to not be alone with him ever again. I think only very troubled people make false allegations.

As others have said it will be investigated fully and all the facts established. They do however need to rule out that your dd is lying as this is a common thing with more pupils than you would think making malicious false accusations against members of staff for trivial reasons such as putting them on detention.

No. At the very least he has done nothing and OP’s daughter has made it up. Neither you nor I can rule that out, and the school certainly cannot assume guilt.

Recent former teacher here. At the very very least, he has behaved extremely stupidly and needs a bucketload of retraining. These are “child protection 101” matters - they are the things that everyone, from the guy who cuts the grass to the ladies in the admin office to the chair of governors should know not to do. I am appalled for your daughter.

The school must do everything by the book now, in case a predator managed to get off via a loophole because they didn’t follow procedure. Suspension is not neutral so they cannot do it immediately. It may yet come. Document ANY attempt by him to communicate with your DD and inform the school. Do not ask them to tell you what they’re doing or what he’s said. A lot of parents expect to be kept informed of “he said x” but the investigation must be confidential. Your DD should try not to discuss it at school either except within the family. If he escaped consequences because the whole picture got muddied by other kids gossiping (not your DD, just that teens cannot keep other people’s business to themselves!) then that would be awful. Your poor DD.

Sorry to hear OP. How horrible for your dd. I hope things get sorted soon.

Might be different in schools due to safeguarding policies but suspension is now not necessarily considered a neutral course of action so employers have to consider if there are other steps they can take first.

Hope your DD is OK. I believe her.

Check with the school that they have also made a referral to the LADO - this is your local authority designated officer who oversees the investigation of the allegation, regardless of suspected outcome. The investigation should not just be an internal one conducted by school;

national-lado-network.co.uk/the-role-of-the-lado-local-authority-designated-officer/

They will investigate.

they’ll probably move her to a new support worker immediately.

no they won’t suspend for this.

i understand that your daughter is upset and this behaviour is inappropriate but you might be surprised how many teenagers complain about the behaviour of adults in school - teachers would be being suspended left right and centre if this were the case.

They need to fully investigate. They can’t just take her word for it as that would mean any pupil could get any staff member suspended at will.