Sign in Subscribe
Teachers

Tribunal Rules Against Former Assistant Headteacher in Unfair Dismissal Claim

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A former assistant headteacher has lost a tribunal claim for unfair dismissal from a Liverpool school, despite alleging that the school's handling of a disciplinary inquiry into his conduct was flawed. Nick Barends, who was at The Blue Coat School in Wavertree until his dismissal in 2023, claimed that the school had unfairly targeted him over a joke award he handed to a pupil in 2012.

Key Takeaways:

  • The tribunal found that the school had a genuine belief in Barends' misconduct and that they reasonably believed he had been involved in misconduct.
  • The school was accused of handing out an award to a male pupil who had been accused of sexually assaulting a female pupil, with the alleged victim of the assault in the audience.
  • The award was titled 'the Liverpool Taxi award', but the tribunal found that it was a direct reference to a sexual event.
  • Barends had faced a previous disciplinary situation in 2010, in which he was dismissed for an 'inappropriate relationship' with an A-Level student, but was later reinstated.
  • The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) had concluded that Barends 'remained a risk to children', and this conclusion was echoed in a subsequent LADO report following the 2012 incident.
  • Judge Ainscough found that the school's decision to dismiss Barends was fair and in line with established employment law precedents.

Statistics:

  • The tribunal was held over six days at the Liverpool Civil and Family Courts.
  • The disciplinary process into Barends' conduct began in 2022, over 10 years after the 2012 prom incident.
  • The LADO report in 2010 concluded that Barends 'remained a risk to children'.
  • Barends had been at The Blue Coat School since 2017, when he was reinstated after his previous disciplinary situation.
  • Judge Ainscough found that the school had acted 'wholly appropriately' in dismissing Barends.

Sources:

  • The tribunal heard by Judge Jennifer Ainscough at the Liverpool Civil and Family Courts.
  • The Liverpool Echo.
  • The British Homes Stores v Burchell employment law cases.
  • The Teaching Regulation Agency.
  • The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) reports.

Read more