As teachers, we are impacted by a plethora of laws relating to working with young people.
BELIEVE ME - THERE ARE MANY!
This could make us new teachers anxious and concerned that we might be doing something wrong - especially those of us working in Further Education Colleges, who may not have initial teacher training under our belts.
What are the laws?
Which ones are the most vital?
Which ones do we attend to each and every day?
Which ones could be life or death for our learners?
How can I make sure I don't break the law???????
If you are strapped for time and just want a list of the laws - just click here.
Still with me? Okay let's begin.
Sifting through the regulations, some really are a matter of life or death and come at the top of my list.
Safety, safety, safety.
Safeguarding and Health and Safety regulations come at the top of my list of laws that teachers need to understand and implement.
Health and Safety
Keeping the learning environment safe for students takes all sorts of people, including the Estates team, who keep premises safely maintained and perform PAT testing on electrical devices.
But teachers are on the front line and need to do things like ensure learners are not causing trip hazards with bags (my personal nemesis, as a teacher checking work!), using lit flames in class, or putting chairs on tables to reach something up high.
Covid-19
With the advent of Covid-19, we have had to implement social distancing, mask-wearing and ventilation. Not to mention the use of anti-bac sprays and gels. Legislation involving schools in relation to closures is included in the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Of course, if a student has an incident that requires First Aid, they should be referred to the duty First Aider.
The relevant legislation for this is the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 and also the School Premises (England) Regulations of 2012 and the Health and Safety (First Aid) regulations of 1981.
Teachers do Health and Safety training as part of their induction.
Children Act, 2004 and the Use of Criminal Convictions Data
Safeguarding of young people affects teachers even before they start, with the requirement of enhanced DBS checks (for criminal records) which relates also to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974 (teachers are required to tell of spent convictions).
Once teaching, we need to look out for signs of abuse or neglect, or anything that might indicate a safeguarding concern, and refer the student accordingly to the designated lead to assess. Even within the classroom, if we see inappropriate behaviour, then we may need to make such a referral. We have a duty of care - in terms of common law and within the legal framework of the Children Act.
Teachers do Safeguarding training during their induction.
Protecting from Others
Next on my list is the teacher's duty to protect students from the negative impacts of other people in their community, who may not be part of their family. This is closely aligned with safeguarding, but I am putting it into its own section as it is usually a step removed from immediate physical harm.
Preventing Extremism
With a growing fear of home-grown and imported extreme views, the Prevent programme has been introduced to help identify, early on, if young people are vulnerable to extremism - be it extreme right wing, religious extremism or other forms of terrorism.
The legislation for this is the Counter Terrorism and Security Act of 2015.
Teachers do Prevent training during their induction.
County Lines and Drug Abuse
As in other towns, in my base of Banbury, we have a significant issue with County Lines drug dealing. This involves a safeguarding issue where students can be groomed to take part.
Spotting signs of a student being targeted for County Lines is another thing for which a teacher needs to look out. Sometimes a student may be seen as under the influence of drugs or as dealing in drugs - in these cases, the police should be called. The relevant legislation is the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971.
County lines awareness is included in the latest Safeguarding training.
Drugs and Weapons
On rare occasions, there may be a suspicion that a student is carrying drugs or a weapon. In this case there are regulations relating to searching powers in the Education Act of 1996.
Modern Slavery
Young adults are at risk of modern slavery.
This takes a number of forms including
Sex Trafficking
Child Sex Trafficking
Forced Labour
Bonded Labour or Debt Bondage
Domestic Servitude
Forced Child Labour
As with Safeguarding and County Lines, signs of modern slavery may include changes in behaviour, depression, changes in how they look or attendance, as well as verbal disclosures. The relevant legislation is the Modern Slavery Act of 2015.
Inclusion
Protection from Discrimination
Teachers have a duty to protect students from discrimination based on certain protected characteristics.
These are:
age
disability
gender reassignment
marriage and civil partnership
pregnancy and maternity
race
religion or belief
sex
The legislation relevant to this is the Equality Act of 2010. The duty includes many aspects of inclusion such as use of materials and content that ensures groups are included in positive ways during lessons and learning.
Supporting Students with SEN
As well as the inclusivity implications of anti-discrimination, teachers have a duty to ensure students with SEN (Special Educational Needs) are included and supported appropriately to reach their potential. This extends to ensuring we link with appropriate institutions and develop appropriate Education and Health Care Plans and Individual Support Plans. This is in addition to the other aspects of safeguarding and duties of care. The appropriate legislation is the Children and Families Act of 2014.
Protection of Personal Information and Property
Personal Privacy
Student information - personal data such as names, addresses, phone numbers and so on - should all be protected and only accessible to the people who need to know it. The appropriate legislation for this is the GDPR regulations which are part of the Data Protection Act of 2018.
GDPR training is provided to teachers during their induction
Intellectual Property
Teachers must be aware that images and videos may be subject to copyright and should be used appropriately. For example, images for slides in education should be selected using the filter "Creative Commons".
The appropriate legislation for this is the Intellectual Property Act of 2014.
Standards of Teaching
Last but not least; it's hard to believe this comes so far down my list, but here we go...
Ensuring the teaching is at the right standard and following the National Curriculum is - of course - the main academic teaching goal for teachers. The legislation relevant to this is the Education and Inspections Act of 2006.
Laws - The detail
Here are links to the laws for you lovely people:
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