Education unions have launched legal action against the Teaching Regulation Agency over concerns non-white teachers are “overrepresented” in misconduct referrals.
Leadership unions NAHT and ASCL, the National Education Union, teaching union NASUWT and Community have lodged a claim for judicial review of what they called “significant non-compliance” with equalities duties.
They said the TRA’s decision not to collect data on protected characteristics such as age, disability, race and sexual orientation of teachers referred to it made it “impossible to evaluate” how its policies and practices impact different groups.
In a statement, the unions said they were in particular “concerned that black and minority ethnic teachers may be overrepresented in referrals to the TRA.
“There is a concern about the underlying reasons for such referrals and whether they stem from discriminatory stereotypes, such as inaccurately labelling the teachers’ behaviour as overly aggressive.”
There is “also a concern that, in comparison with heterosexual teachers, the TRA has investigated some LGBTQ+ teachers for alleged sexual misconduct, where there are no grounds for doing so at the referral stage.
“The unions are also concerned that the TRA is electing to investigate teachers even when the allegations made against them lack merit and are unsupported by evidence, only to drop such cases before the hearing stage.”
Prolonged investigations ‘take a heavy toll’
Unions have repeatedly criticised the TRA for how it handles teacher misconduct cases, particularly how long it takes to conclude them.
Schools Week revealed last year how two teachers have been waiting more than eight years for their misconduct cases to conclude, with the “shattering impact” of lengthy waits having “potentially devastating implications”.
And earlier this year the TRA admitted breaching a headteacher’s human rights after taking six years to conclude her case – but banned her from the classroom anyway.
Prolonged TRA investigations “take a heavy toll on teachers, affecting their health, wellbeing, and careers”, the unions said.
“If LGBTQ+ and black and minority ethnic teachers are overrepresented in the TRA’s processes, they will be particularly affected by this.”
They said they had sent a letter before action to education secretary Bridget Phillipson – who is legally responsible for the TRA – on April 3.
However, they said they “did not receive a substantive response within the deadline, so on April 17 the unions submitted a claim for judicial review at the High Court”.
The TRA said it “does not comment on cases where litigation is ongoing.
“The TRA investigates all alleged instances of serious misconduct by teachers as set out in legislation and our published guidance, irrespective of particular characteristics such as age, disability, race and sexual orientation.
“TRA is mindful of the impact allegations of serious misconduct can have on teachers and has taken steps to reduce the duration of its investigations, including significantly increasing the number of professional conduct panel hearings it holds year-on-year.”
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