Case studies from subscribers

We support school staff in England and Wales with a wide range of employment-related issues in schools.

These range from clarification with employment contracts, PPA time, job references to allegations from pupils, dismissal from role to employment tribunals and Teaching and Regulation Agency hearings.

Below, we highlight the types of questions and situations teachers contact us about.

We have removed specific details about the cases and the names of subscribers for confidentiality reasons.

You can also read our latest reviews from our subscribers on TrustPilot.

Allegation from a pupil: suspended from role pending investigation

Julie, Science teacher, large secondary school in Sussex

Julie contacted us because she had been suspended from school.

It was alleged that she had forcefully restrained a pupil in class and was subsequently suspended from her role. Julie was told not to attend work and not to talk to any of her colleagues while the school established the facts and circumstances of the allegation. Julie was allocated one of our experienced legal caseworkers who she could talk through what had happened and we provided care and reassurance with multiple telephone calls and detailed email follow-ups.

Julie was worried that she would lose her job and potentially be banned from the teaching profession.

Julie sent us the investigation meeting invite and we were able to provide accompaniment remotely to the meeting, due to Covid restrictions at the time. We were able to prepare Julie for the meeting and ensured that the school followed its own disciplinary policies and procedures. We provided support to Julie throughout the meeting and debriefed Julie afterwards.

The outcome of the hearing was that Julie had used reasonable force and the school decided not to progress with any disciplinary action. Julie was thankful for how quick we were able to respond to her queries and how we guided her throughout the process.

Micheal, English teacher, independent school in Shropshire

Micheal contacted us because he had been invited to an investigation meeting about his social media conduct. It had been alleged that he joined in a discussion on Twitter about teaching methods which allegedly brought the school into disrepute.

He subsequently deleted the tweets after his school requested to remove them. Micheal sent us a copy of his school’s social media policy and screenshots of the Tweets in question. We arranged for one of our caseworkers to accompany him to his investigatory meeting to support his case. The outcome of the investigatory meeting was that it would not need to proceed to the disciplinary stage. Michael apologised to his school for any misunderstanding and still teaches at the school.

Clarification with employment contract: after-school meetings

Anita, part-time teacher, primary school in Merseyside

Anita contacted us because she wanted to clarify details about her employment contract. She was unsure about her requirement to attend speciﬁc after-school meetings as she was on a part-time contract. Anita was able to speak to one of our caseworkers and she sent us her employment contract via email.

We operate a secure casework management system at Edapt so confidential documents and emails can be viewed and managed within your casework file.

We were able to clarify her direct time working commitments and which meetings she was expected to attend. She was pleased we were able to resolve the situation and is conﬁdent in which meetings she is and isn’t required to attend.