Do I tell the school about this teacher's past?

[Friendoffoxes]

Longtime lurker here. A new teacher has joined my DC's school. It is a secondary and the subject she teaches is not one DC has chosen for options, so won't be teaching DC. I have only seen her on the website, so not come across her yet. Also I am married, so she wouldn't recognise me if she sees school related stuff with my name or DC's name. DH works from home so he does any pick ups if necessary, but DC normally takes the bus. Obviously I go to school stuff like performances, parents evenings, but do not get involved in PTA stuff or helping (dons Mumsnet hard hat)

I was a student with her and shared a house. She ended up stealing a significant amount of money (for a student) from me and two other people and when confronted tried to deny it and then tried to blackmail one of us (said she would tell everybody he had raped her-rubbish) if he would keep quiet about the money she had taken from him, and said the other two of us had agreed the money she had taken was a loan.

While we were dealing with this sh*t it emerged (don't want to go into details, but we started digging a bit) and she got expelled from a school because of bullying when she was younger. Also, her family got a shoplifting charge dropped (independent shop). Anyway, we decided to go to the police. We told her we would, if we didn't get the money back. Next thing we know, her family are on the phone, we have our money back with a nice generous extra added on top, on the condition we don't make any fuss.

We took it, we were young, trying to get on with our lives after graduating, skint.

Obviously she's passed a criminal check, but I'm horrified that she is working in a school. What do I do? do I have a quiet word with the school?

If schools got rid of all the teachers who had done dodgy stuff as students there would be approximately 3 teachers left!

I think last time I read this story the theif had got a conviction and now couldn't get a job as a teacher. She was quite angry about it I think. It's nice she's sorted all that out now.
Yes this^^
Why is this story being rehashed again???

Whenever this sort of post comes round - someone wishing they could wreck someone else’s career- it always makes me think the poster must have something seriously lacking in their own life.

Get out there and make a success of your own life OP. Maybe then you won’t expend so much energy on fretting over other people.

If I was the HT being told this nonsense I would call the police.......to pursue the op for malicious mischief.

@MilfordFound - aren't those convictions on the DBS checks of candidates for jobs as opposed to people who actually got the jobs? Surely the worst ones would have been weeded out before interview (or have I misunderstood?)

Years ago I remember you could start the job pending your CRB check coming through (imagine!) and I recall quite a few people who started the term, did a couple of weeks and then disappeared forever amid rumours.

I’m finding the opinions on this thread really interesting compare to the ones on a previous thread where someone had stolen a CC, taken all the money and then gitvreported to the police and convinced.

On here, this poor woman has CLEARLY turned her life around and should be left alone (we have no way of knowing btw. She might well still be blackmailing people or be a thief wo anyone at school knowing). She was just young and everyone makes mkaitakes when you are young.

On the other thread, the woman should have known better. She was an adults in her 20s therefore had no excuse for taking the money for mother’s like this. Being young certainly wasn’t an excuse. And, as for the fact that having being convicted means she has lost the job she was training for, well all her responsibility. The OP on that thread should not feel bad about it.

Quite a stark difference for two very similar offences (at least in the other thread, there was no blackmailing a poor guy with rape charges) isn’t it??

OP the problem there is that you have no proof.
She might well have turned her life around or she might not.
The best you can do is to keep a close eye and check that your dcs aren’t negatively affected by her.
But you can’t tell the school (it would be your words against hers. And you would look like you are seeking some sort of revenge).

Keep out of it, have you never done anything foolish that you later regretted?

I also love how someone who is stealing is just young and naive an de we all make mistakes aren’t we?

But the one who accepts repayment from the parent plus money for compensation (which is quite a common thing to do where people reach an agreement out of Courts), then the OP just gladly took a bribe for instead of reporting. Because you see, even though the OP and the thief were the same age, the OP clearly wasn’t so young to be allowed to make mistakes too. Or to not know how the judicial system was working. Or to be able to realise a situation such as the one described could happen. Nope this is accepting a BRIBE, I tell you!!

Fgs. Not reporting a crime is NOT a crime in itself.
The OP accepted compensation for the problems the woman created. It’s fine. She didn’t do ANYTHING WRONG.
Stop blaming the victim that was trying her hardest to find a decent solution to the problem.

@kaitlinktm yes sort of, employers generally do a dbs check of the candidate they've offered the job to, rather than check all the candidates due to the cost and eligibility, then make the final decision if something comes back on the dbs.

So potentially (hopefully in some cases!) some of those applicants with crimes on the list won't have been employed following the results of their certificate.
Some of those applications will be rechecks (dbs advise a recheck at least every 3 years) for teachers who are already employed.

The sheer number of applications from teachers who know that their crimes will show up on the certificate suggests that they know some employers will consider them despite convictions.
Someone who is barred from working with children is breaking the law by applying for roles working with children- so an assumption could be made that those individuals on the list are not barred from working with children despite some serious convictions.

Employing candidates before a full dbs comes through is still common in some sectors, especially care/nursing homes. They can do a quick check of the adults barred list as part of the dbs application and employ a candidate under supervision until the dbs comes through. Someone could have committed some serious crimes but not be on the barred lists though.

But if it happened as described then it was a bribe - it wasn't just repayment it was extra money conditional on not reporting a crime rather than simple compensation.

OP have you posted about this before? Or possibly the teacher has. Or one of the other house members. Either way, crimes (real ones) generally expire are a period of time in recognition that people can turn their life around and they should be allowed to do that.

.

The OP accepted compensation for the problems the woman created. It’s fine. She didn’t do ANYTHING WRONG.

So far so good. What I find distasteful is that the OP accepted the compensation at the time but is now considering reneging on the contract.

Thanks Milford - of course it was silly of me to assume they would DBS check all the candidates - that would cost a fortune!

Are there really people who believe all teachers must have led blameless lives or they are unfit to teach? Making mistakes is a part of life and sometimes the experience of badly messing up, turning yourself around and learning fro it could maybe even make you a better teacher than someone who hasn't ever put a foot wrong. It might equip someone with empathy and compassion; qualities the OP and a few on this thread seem to lack.

Does anybody truly imagine they have the right to go to someone's employer to recount a twenty year old grievance they have against that person and truly expect it to be taken into account 'of anything funny happens'? What, just on your word? What kind of employer would accept a story from someone bitter enough to be obsessed with a wrong from two decades ago that didn't end up harming them?

There are some crimes that can't ever be swept under the carpet, some offences that rightly bar someone from certain jobs for life. This isn't one of them. Anyone seriously imagining they would go to the head in this situation needs to really think about what they are proposing and what it says about them.

The OP accepted compensation for the problems the woman created. It’s fine. She didn’t do ANYTHING WRONG.

She accepted money to keep quiet. That's a bribe. I take it she will be paying the money back what with her now not keeping quiet and all.

Won't the events be too far back to feature on a criminal check, even if they were reported at the time?

Bastardkitty, how would you feel if your employer didn't give you 'the benefit of the doubt' because someone had gone to them with an an unsubstantiated allegation against you? How do you imagine the head could treat it as anything other than malicious gossip in this situation? He or she most certainly can't treat the teacher differently based on a story from years ago with no proof attached. They trust this teacher; they hired them. They couldn't allow this to cloud their judgement in any way. So going to the head would be pointless and make the OP look vindictive and foolish.

I wouldn't say a thing. It was her past, not her present. I worked recruiting doctors for a long time. You'd be surprised how many of them have actual convictions from when they were younger. They were allowed to move on and this person (who doesn't have a conviction) deserves the same.

Well, if people don't change and should be held to account for past mistakes forever, maybe you're after another 'keep quiet' cheque then, OP?

So teachers aren't allowed to do ANYTHING wrong?! We are expected to lead faultless lives at all times, not just while we're at school, and now anything done in the past, even without a criminal record, means we are unfit to teach? I stole some one penny sweets when I was about 9, shall I come clean as I'm clearly a bad influence on the primary children I teach?

No wonder so many teachers leave the profession if this is what we're faced with.

I have to fill in a form every year to declare that nobody in the house I live in has been convicted of a violent crime or that they have had children taken into care. This need not be a member of the family but could be just another random person in a house share. (That would be an awkward conversation in the kitchen wouldn't it?)

I wonder why this is as the children I teach would never be in my house or in contact with my family (or housemates - if I had any).

Have you considered that possibly she was unhappy, confused, mixed up and scared and has presumably come through it, has not reoffended and has decided to focus on teaching and helping young people? I had a very troubled adolescence and early adulthood. One of the main motivating factors in me working with young people now is I want to be a positive role model. I try to have the attitude that every time I am kind or warm or understanding towards a teenager, it cancels out some of the horribleness I went through

This ^

And not just the horribleness I went through, but the horrible things I did to others, because back then I thought that’s how people behaved and that’s just how life was. I didn’t know any better. I do now.

SoozC

No one is saying that.

Some progressions have a much higher standard of behaviour than others. Teachers, police, doctors for example. They have huge responsibilities. The fair expectation is that those occupying these professions display a high level of behaviour at work and in their private life. It’s not something that should be compartmentalised.

So yes, society does expect a high level of behaviour broth at work and in private life from these professionals.

Wishingandwaiting - you might want to have a look at the GMC or NMC hearings websites to see just how many professionals in these roles who have criminal convictions which the public may be horrified by but who are considered to be fit to continue in those roles.

ReturnOfTheMackYesItIs

I will check it out now.
Do you have an example for me to look at first?