Dr B C Slater

BCS-EPS-BH-TP (01603) 223300

 Dear Colleague

Please find enclosed a copy of the above policy which deals with issues of harassment and bullying of school employees, areas not adequately covered by existing Education Personnel policies.

The document incorporates the principles of the County Council’s Harassment at Work policy but puts them into a "model" form that is suitable for school Governing Bodies to adopt in line with their employer responsibilities under the School Standards and Framework Act.

It represents the outcome of extensive consultations with all education partners, who have all expressed their support for it, and draws on national codes of practice, current legislation, and examples of good practice from other LEAs.

It provides a clear statement of principle that bullying and harassment of one employee by another will not be tolerated and a procedure to ensure that any allegations of harassment can be dealt with speedily, sensitively, and thoroughly.

It also refers to other procedures which Governing Bodies can use to protect their employees from harassment by persons who are not employees.

As such, it is a document which Governing Bodies are strongly recommended to consider and adopt as school policy.

Support to the policy will be provided by the Personnel Consultancy team in EPS who should be contacted for advice on specific cases. Union representatives should also be familiar with the policy.

The model policy will be included in the latest Personnel Handbook (as Appendix C in Section 4) available on EsiNet early this term but, as a new policy, it was felt worthwhile drawing to schools’ attention separately.

Yours sincerely

Bryan Slater

Director of Education