Right to Silence in school interview

[1099]

If a child was being questioned by a member of school staff in regards to an incident which occurred outside of school, and the outcome of the interview could potentially involve the child in disciplinary action. Does the child have a right not to answer the questions and secondly should the school be making the child aware of this prior to the interview. Also do you think the interview could jeopardise any subsequent Police interview.

School aren’t the police. There is no right to silence as such, although you can’t force someone to speak if they don’t want to. If it’s a police matter then it should be, as far as practicable, left to the police to investigate. In reality, except for the most serious issues, the police expect schools to have asked some questions and gathered some information. There’s also the internal disciplinary process that needs to be followed.

i don’t think school staff can make someone talk regardless of the situation. They have no lawful weight, they can only ask a question and await a response. School staff are not trained in police questioning techniques and as such won’t indicate that the child could stay silent.

Is there something he/she needs help with

No, we were discussing something which they witnessed at school but didn't want to be involved in and it got me wondering.

If there is any safeguarding concern it would usually be inappropriate to interview the child if either LADO or police were already involved.

If it happened outside of school and I had to speak to the child I would want a parent or responsible adult there too
We are not the police and if it was nothing to do with the school I wouldn't expect to get involved unless the a pupil needed support