20% of school staff face false allegations from pupils

More than one in five school staff in Britain and Northern Ireland have had a false allegation made against them by a pupil, a survey has found.

A further 7% said that they have faced untrue claims from a student’s parent or family member.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), which conducted the poll, said false allegations are blighting careers and putting added stress on education workers.