TEACHERS are afraid to speak out against the Education Department because they fear recriminations – or even losing their job. Unions are welcoming an expected full independent review of the department’s management after Education responded to pressure from deputies threatening a requete.

The department had previously resisted the recommendation, made by Lt-Bailiff Richard Southwell, when he rejected, on technical and legal grounds, a judicial review into the dismissal of Le Rondin head Jane Stephens.

‘Until the exact format of the inquiry is made clear and until the guidelines and safeguards for the collection of evidence are in the public domain, many of our colleagues are extremely reluctant to speak out for fear of compromising their professional integrity,’ said National Union of Teachers spokesman Sean McManus.

‘This fear stems, in part, from concerns about job security and the perceived threat of recriminations but also from a very real sense of loyalty to their employers.’

For some time, he said, a growing number of colleagues had preferred to use their professional associations as a conduit for complaints.

‘However, in the interests of public accountability and the effective delivery of the education service, there may now be a real need for the confidential receipt of evidence from an external assessor.’

Continued calls for an external assessment of the management of education have resulted in some unease among professionals, said Mr McManus.

‘The ongoing uncertainty engendered by these events threatens to undermine public and professional confidence in the administration of the service.

‘An early declaration of such a wide-ranging external assessment must now be in the best interests of the service as a whole.’

Any evidence-gathering should be secure and comprehensive yet sensitive to the rights of those working within education and those who have retired over the last 10 years, he added.

Nasuwt secretary Caroline Bowker said teachers locally had been concerned about the high turnover of senior staff.

‘The recent call for a wide-ranging inquiry can only serve to reassure staff,’ she said.

‘We have called, in the past, for our Education Department to benefit from an inspection process in a similar way to schools locally and a wide-ranging, independent inquiry, led by a respected, appropriately qualified professional, will lay a secure foundation for future regular reviews.’