Flintshire: Teacher oath against pupil relationships rejected

The proposed motion, which had been put forward by Hope councillor Gladys Healey, would have involved teachers and school staff having to pledge in front of a manager not to form intimate relationships with students.

Ms Healey had said stronger measures were needed to protect children from abuse by teachers.

She proposed the motion following the court case of Gwynedd headteacher Neil Foden, who was jailed for 17 years in July after being found guilty of sexually abusing four girls.

Neil Butler, NASUWT’s national official for Wales, said the motion served “only to bring the teaching profession into disrepute”.

He said teachers in Wales were highly regulated and had to adhere to the Education Workforce’s code of practice which explicitly stated they ‘have a duty of care for the safety, physical, social, moral, and educational wellbeing of learners and young people’.”

Mr Butler said any teacher who breached the code would face disciplinary action and potential dismissal.

“For Flintshire council to introduce its own oath would be showing a shocking contempt for the profession,” he added.