Powers that a school head teacher has

[Dom Tuk]

Does the headteacher of a primary school have any powers to ban/exlude any parent from the school premises. For eg: If a parent has demonstrated rude behaviour in the past, is unpredicable and touches other mothers (like giving neck massages and pretending it is a joke) etc...what can the head teacher do about it. Is it a matter for the police. And if it so transpires that the parent has had a history of mental illness will it be disclosed to the head teacher (data protection act).

[andy hughes]

A Head Teacher does have the power to exclude someone if the Head feels that the safety and security of the children and / or staff are compromised. It is usual to advise the individual in a private meeting that their behaviour is unacceptable, and if it persists, then an exclusion will be enforced. If necessary, the head can then write to the individual, advising them that they are not to enter school premises until firther notice - any such entry will be construed as trespass, and the individual will be removed by the police. It should do the trick.

If there are any individual circumstances involved, such as mental health issues, the head can be relied on to exercise appropriate discretion, and ensure that disruption is minimised for all concerned.

[Octavius]

The school needs a court order to ban the parent from the school premises.  The proposed changes to The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 put forward by David Blunkett in 2001 aimed to make it easier for schools (head teachers) to instigate controls and bans against disruptive, threatening, or violent parents or pupils.  I am unsure whether this became legislation.  See also The Education Act 1996.

I am guessing that the new Freedom of Information Act 2000 (from 1 Jan 05) would entitle the head teacher to obtain information held on public record with justification. 

[Dom Tuk]

I am skeptical whether the Freedom of Information act will allow the head teacher to ask for information about somebody else, ie a parent. Herein lies the crux of the problem which my question was trying to highlight. If you have a parent who is known to the police from their investigations to have a history of mental illness/violence/other problems can they divulge that information to the head teacher or can the head teacher ask for that info and be given it under the present range of legislation. What takes precedence? Data protection act or Freedom of information act. How is the head teacher going to protect the interests of all the children if he cannot get this basic information.

[Hgrove]

Bear in mind that if you find out info. in circumstances which do not import a need for confidentiality (e.g. gossip, eavesdropping) you are not bound by confidentiality.  You could go and tell the head yourself about that parent's record etc.  The head could ask the police but it would be difficult to take the matter further if the police believe they are bound by confidentiality and refuse to disclose.  If the parent is causing a nuisance by touching women's necks pretending it's a joke, I would simply report him to the police.  Remember that any physical contact whatsoever, even a caress, is technically battery without consent.

[Hgrove]

I thought, unlike what Octavius has written, that a head, as occupier of the premises, would be able to ban whomever they please from the school, without any reason, just like you can refuse access to your house to anyone you don't like the look of.  The difficulty, rather, is enforcing the ban.  Supposing the head writes to the parent concerned informing him that he has been banned from the premises - apart from all the controversy this could generate - if the man then turns up, what can the head and teachers do?  All they can do is ask the police to attend to prevent a breach of the peace, but the police will leave when they are satisfied there isn't going to be trouble.  The head could ask for an injuction if he is willing to spend money getting the injunction, and if the judge agrees that he should give the injunction (he does not have to).  But unless the school has Security on the premises, you can't stop him coming in although he could be imprisoned, later, for contempt of court.  On the whole, I think it is a delicate matter and it would be better to proceed with a softly softly approach if at all possible.

[Octavius]

I believe Hgrove, that was the whole point of the proposed change to the legislation.

Schools are not public places to which any member of the public is entitled to have access. Any person who enters without permission is a trespasser. Trespassers may, therefore be asked to leave. Trespass is not a criminal offence, but a matter which may be pursued through the civil courts. However, if a trespasser refuses to leave school premises, or enters after being required to leave, their behaviour may give rise to a criminal offence under section 547 of the Education Act 1996.

Where a head teacher is seeking to exclude a parent from school premises, the parent should be afforded the opportunity to provide a written reason why they should not be excluded before a decision is made by the head teacher. Head teachers should be aware of the Court of Appeal Verdict regarding parents' right to enter their children's school.

LEAs already had the power to ban parents from school premises and police could always bring charges for crimes such as assault, but often failed to do so.  Each LEA will have their own procedure for dealing with banning parents, including in some cases excluding a pupil if their parent is violent towards a member of staff.  Check your local LEA's policy for further details.

[LordyGeordie]

i once read somewhere about the powers school heads have and was actually quite surprised at what tehy can do. typically now there is a discussion about it i can't remember what any of them were.

However, unlike what Octavious said the school wpould not need a court order to ban the parent from the school premises. the head is acting in loco parentis of all the children there and also has the well being of his staff to look after, if he thought there was anybody which could threaten the safety of either of them he/ she could ban that person from school premises.

I guess the offended party could appeal the ban but ultimately as the school belongs to the LEA any ban would ultimately be their decision