ABSTRACT
We began this book with a story about a young, female teacher who, having had an allegation of sexual abuse made against her, spent a nightmarish 24 hours before investigations established that she definitely hadn’t done anything at all untoward. Rebecca’s experience was bad enough but, as the composite stories of the people who contributed to our research have shown, it could have been a lot worse. Indeed, and as was explained in Chapter 4, things could have been much more appalling than we described, given our choice to re-present what might be called ‘run of the mill’ allegation experiences, rather than writing sensational narratives based on some of the accounts we heard. However, having taken that decision, as the deadline for handing our manuscript to the publisher loomed close we came across a story that we really felt needed to be included both because of its awfulness and its provenance. This account is contained in the Hansard Report for April 1, 2009 which transcribes a debate initiated by Paul Goodman, Conservative MP for Wycombe, and it begins:
I am grateful to have secured this debate today. I want to tell part of the story of my constituent, Nick Cousins, because that will allow me to ask how a teacher who has never been found guilty by a court is now unlikely to be able to return to his vocation because, in effect, of the intervention of the Government and their agencies. The story raises serious questions about the balance – in our schools, in the education system as a whole, in government and in our popular culture – between the protection of pupils and justice for teachers, and about the consequences for those schools, that system and our education and popular culture, if that balance goes awry. It also raises profound questions of justice and equity.
