Nursery World - Anonymity for people accused of sexual offences

The Professional Association of Teachers has backed a coroner's call for anonymity for people accused of sexual offences. Isle of Wight coroner John Matthews made the proposal last month following the suicide of a local headteacher who had faced allegations of abuse. PAT said it was concerned about the way that accused people were treated during investigations, the length of the investigations, the failure to inform people of the nature of accusations made against them to give them an opportunity to respond, and the way child protection teams' decisions were communicated. The union's general secretary, Pat Gemmell, said, 'There needs to be a fair balance between the rights of the individual accused and the interests of the child. PAT believes that children should be protected, but also that those who work with children deserve protection too. If accused of assaulting pupils, teachers and support staff should have a right of anonymity, at least until they are charged with a criminal offence.'

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