Should a reform councillor feel pressure to resign if they hold a public sector role specifically teaching

[mids2019]

So locally we had a newly appointed Reform councillor regionally who held a job in teaching. According to them once he has taken up the position as councillor he was roles by the school management as the school has a diverse cohort of students he was brining his position into disrepute as the policies of Reform may not necessarily reflect EDI ethos of the school.

Is this right? Should public sector employees police the political views of employees or even engage in action that could be construed as undemocractic? The school argues that if a teacher is a known reform councillor then students would infer they may hold views that would compromise teaching to a wide range of pupils.

No I don’t believe this is fair. Reform is one of the countries most popular parties now - they can’t sack everyone in a public sector role that votes reform!

Well no-one will sacked due to voting Reform, as voting is secret!

Who is the councillor OP?

It's not about voting reform, it's about holding public office for them @ohpoowhatnow.

Reform candidates have no place in schools.

the policies of Reform may not necessarily reflect EDI ethos of the school

The school argues that if a teacher is a known reform councillor then students would infer they may hold views that would compromise teaching to a wide range of pupils

Which policies and views are being referred to?

This.

No. There may be some roles where visible political activity for any party might be considered inappropriate, but I don't think employers should be able to single out specific political parties for special treatment. If the party is legal, then it should be treated like any other legal political party, no matter how objectionable it might be.

It's a very tough one for the school to manage, though, as there will inevitably be a lot of parents who simply aren't willing to have their kids in the care of someone like that.

Not sure about technically but morally it's not great - how can children who are diverse in any way be expected to sit and do what they're told by someone who holds a public office going against their views?

I don't think it's a good idea for any teacher really as we are expected to be impartial about politics and schools don't exist in vacuums.

Overall, it may be technically fine but it undermines the integrity of school being an equal community where all children are respected.

This isn't about who they vote for, it's about being so publically high profile that it becomes a conflict of interest.

Is the school in the same LA as the one the councillor is a member of @mids2019 ?

The political activities of staff working in local or central government have long been restricted according to grade/seniority.
This doesn't extend to voting or holding membership of a politucal party. As you rise up the ranks, the less politically active you are allowed to be. In the civil service you are not allowed to stand as an MP if you are employed by the civil service. If you are a local government employee you cannot stand for office in the authority that employs you. Several Reform councillors had to resign immediately in May when it was discovered they were Council employees.
I didnt think this extended to teachers, but I suppose individual schools may have their own policies but it should cover all political parties not just Reform.

From a legal stand point could the teacher sue for wrongful dismissal as Reform are a legal political party in the same way if a school said a similar thing for being a Councillor for the new Jeremy Corbin party ?

And there is indeed govt guidance on political impartiality in schools
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools

This is very common irrespective of what political party the councillor is a member of. Let’s not just make this about Reform. Some public sector roles are “politically restricted” to maintain impartiality which I think is fair.

I’d assume not, as I think that would disqualify them from running in the first place.

Not teaching.

I would absolutely hate my children to be taught with someone who held the views of someone who chose to be a Reform councillor. Also, and this is personal experience, every person I know who voted Reform is not a great character (misogynistic, homophobic and racist) and not someone I would like near my children or their friends.

Yes, that is why asked as I wondered if this was actually a case like the ones described by pp.

No-one should be barred from working as a teacher provided they are not engaging in unlawful conduct & they are working to the school's reasonable policies. If a teacher feels the school EDI policy is not reasonable, they should still work to it, but can ask for it to be changed. If they have advised the school they won't work to it, it's reasonable not to employ them. If the school feels that some of Reform's platform is not lawful, they can name what it is, & explain why they won't employ/ have suspended the teacher.

Is it just generally because they are a councillor or because of what they are saying and doing in that role?

For example one reform councillor said some children in care were downright evil. I can understand why that would be incompatible with working in a school.

I don't think the party is relevant, because it's the principle- and there are guidelines for thst.

When I did my history degree, we had a lot of overt political views around, and most of the student Labour and Conservative society members were historians. At least two of my lecturers were candidates in local elections for opposing parties. One was successful, and he later got into trouble with the uni, not because of his political views, but because his council work was interfering with his uni work - cancelling tutorials and supervisions in favour of council work.

So I would be most concerned about time especially in termtime, and whether they would manage their time well enough to give their best to both roles.

That's not what the OP asked

Obviously, the school could discipline the teacher for doing anything which explicitly contradicted the EDI policy, but I think it's the intangible stuff that is more of a problem.

A lot of parents will understandably be very unhappy and very unwilling to allow their children to be around that kind of influence, and honestly, who can blame them? But the impact of that is that it becomes very hard for the school to deploy the teacher effectively.

I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of that Headteacher.

@Stichintime politics has no place in the classroom unless taught neutrally by an expert and preferably in a politics class .

Would be a convenient way to explain having to leave due to something sackable, wouldn't it?

Wow! People like you are the reason Reform are so popular.