The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) has said that schools who fail to report inappropriate behaviour by a staff member towards a minor should be held legally responsible and their licence revoked.

MUT President Kevin Bonello was commenting on each of the 17 proposals in the White Paper entitled “On Adults Working with Minors”. It was launched by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo and is based on proposals that had been submitted by The Lisa Maria Foundation earlier this year. 

He explained that clear guidelines on what constitutes inappropriate behaviour are needed.

It was stated in the White Paper that “compromise agreements when an employee working with minors has the job terminated because of allegations of inappropriate behaviour shall not be accepted. Termination of employment should be accompanied by a letter from the employer certifying that employment was not terminated because of any inappropriate behaviour affecting minors”.

On this point, the MUT believes that inappropriate behaviour with minors should be reported to the competent authorities and investigated. “Schools who fail to do so should be liable to losing their licence. On the other hand clear guidelines on what constitutes inappropriate behaviour must be drawn up and distributed to all stake holders. It is unacceptable that an educator who tries to correct his students ends up being investigated for abuse, as has happened several times,” Mr Bonello said.

He added that the MUT has been in long discussions and has held several meetings with the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs and Education so as to find better formulae on how cases are treated by the police and the Law Courts.

The Lisa Maria foundation was set up by the Zahra family following the death of 15-year-old Lisa Maria Zahra, who was found dead at the bottom of Dingli cliffs on 19 March, 2014. Erin Tanti, her drama teacher, was found a short distance away, slightly injured.

Mr Tanti was subsequently charged with murdering Ms Zahra, assisting her suicide, defiling and participating in sexual acts with her, being in possession of indecent images of a minor and abusing a position of trust. Criminal proceedings against him are ongoing.

The paper includes another 16 proposals by the Ministry, with Mr Bonello’s comments in italics.

The White Paper proposes that people wishing to work with minors in a school environment should undergo screening process to try and make sure they are fit to work in such an environment. This can be done using different methods so that the screening process is as good as possible.

“We believe that this should be done and it was indeed a good proposal. The proposal should not just be done for schools but for all organisations and clubs that give service/education to children”.

Part of the training for educators should be focused on ethics, behaviour and professional issues. Anyone who aspires to work with minors should be made aware of the implications the breach of such issues and regulations will have. All those working with minors should be governed by a Code of Ethics.

“The MUT has been insisting for years that all educators should have a code of ethics. Unfortunately, committees that were working on a code of ethics for Kindergarten Assistants and Learning Support Assistants have been discontinued in spite of the vast work that was already done prior to the general election. The MUT has written several times to appeal for the continuation and conclusion of this work but as yet nothing has been done about it. The Union even went as far as to specify who the members of these committees were since the previous administration left no hand over. Teachers covered by a Permanent / Temporary Teachers Warrant are already covered by a code of ethics which is enshrined in law. Many persons who work with minors outside school context should also be included in such a set-up.”

Adverts and applications for posts where adults will be working with minors (not only as educators) must be the first line of defence. These should reflect the message that society is there to protect minors and that society is on the lookout for anyone who is willing to prey on our children. Applications should put the onus on the applicant to declare any details which might make him/her unfit to work with minors.

In all schools all applicants must produce a police conduct document as well as the criminal record document.  It is up to the employer to check them and make sure that nobody passes the filtering.  There is nothing else a prospective employee can do.  Moreover the offenders’ register should be made public to employers and unions alike.

Applications must be accompanied by references from trustworthy people. These people can be contacted by the future employer if certain double checking is needed.

This is already done in most cases.

Adequate training to people involved in the recruitment and interviewing of applicants to work with minors should be provided. This training would help these people to detect any suspects at an early stage such as during the interview. A follow-up system should be in place in case of any person being flagged as suspicious.

This is a very unclear recommendation. No amount of training can make interviewers detect whether the interviewee is a potential sex offender or criminal. Training to detect acute mental disorders or dangerous traits might be however commendable. On the other hand, one must note that most educators would have gone through years of training and education at university level. Maybe it would be a better idea for course coordinators to have such tools so that people with problems are supported before they even apply.

Again, we believe that in any case one also needs to consider the context outside formal education. The vast majority of child abuse does not occur at school but in their own homes by relatives or family friends. What are we doing to protect children from all sorts of abuse in their homes and communities? We have several cases of child neglect, sexual abuse, and so on.  While educators pass through various filters, parents are hardly ever screened until the crime is committed.

All adults working with children should be good role models for their students both during and after working hours. Bearing in mind the nature of current legal procedures, someone who has committed a serious offence may still end up occupying a position of trust in educational institutions. A system of how these people are identified before being recruited is being proposed.

Serious offences are usually detected by a criminal record and police conduct document. In a democratic country nobody can assume someone is guilty and s/he needs to prove him/herself innocent but the other way round. However, any ideas that might reduce risks further are welcome to be debated.

Access to the Sex Offenders’ Register should be simplified and costs reduced to the minimum. Applicants should be able to get a certificate from the competent authorities that their name does not appear on the register. This would reduce costs for the employer when compared to the present situation. Besides it would work as a deterrent for any applicant.

This is ridiculous and humiliating. Employers and unions should be given access to the register to be able to check their applicants and not submit the applicant to the humiliation of getting a clean sheet from the sex register. We believe that this proposal assumes that all educators are potential criminals, which goes against the respect that educators should receive.

Recruitment of employees to work with minors should be done through a Single Recruitment Record. This is to ensure that all necessary information is centralised, thus the gathering of information for the employer would be less bureaucratic and laborious.

This recommendation might be a good idea and it might be beneficial to schools, especially non-state schools.

Newly qualified teachers (NQT) and educators, as well as other staff who are going to work with minors should undergo an induction programme. This should not only include academic or pedagogical aspects but a good element of how to handle minors, how to act and react, and training on the safeguarding and welfare of young children and youths. Each new employee should be given a handbook with clearly outlined boundaries.

This is already being done for teachers and most educator grades but not done outside formal education contexts. We agree with this proposal and indeed the MUT was already on record in the sectorial agreement signed in 2010 about this issue.

Educators’ confirmation and that of other staff employed to work with minors should be more stringent and follows a common procedure in all schools and places. Confirmation should be endorsed by more than one people.

The MUT agrees with this proposal, as long as it does not become a huge bureaucratic exercise and one which is choking for educators.

Policies should be in place outlining procedures in case of allegations on inappropriate behaviour by adults working with minors.

These already exist.

Setting up a national standards programme promoting commitment to high safety standards through the endorsement of protocols, standards and set policies. Schools and other educational institutions would be eligible for accreditation by guaranteeing the conformity with the agreed principles.

The MUT agrees with this proposal too. However, it should be extended to other places where people are working with minors.

All persons coming into regular contact with minors, especially employees of contractors should undergo regular information sessions and training. Contractors must make sure that their employees have the necessary certification and standards to work in the proximity of minors.

We agree and it should be extended to bus drivers, and all transport providers.

Policies and procedures must be in place in order to create uniformity, security and peace of mind that when certain situations arise action is taken according to prescribed norms and not on an individual initiative or a sporadic system.

This is already the case but it may be clarified even further to provide a clear environment for all.

Regular audits on child safety measures both in schools and educational institutions as well as other places were minors are gathered should be carried out by the competent authorities.

This is also a good idea. Further to the audit, one should also see that enough resources are available to schools to be able to fix things.

There should be a person in every institution who puts forward issues related to children’s well-being and to be the first port of call in cases where children’s well-being is concerned.

Most schools have guidance teachers and supporting counsellors. However it might be a good idea to have an extra assistant head to be able to concentrate on such issues, given that this includes family problems.