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School refuses to tell mum why staff member 'removed' after incident involving her daughter, 5, and social workers
7 February 2025, 05:55 | Updated: 7 February 2025, 06:13
A mum in Inverness hasn't been told why a school staff member was 'removed' despite the incident involving her five-year-old daughter.
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Lauren Selkirk's been informed she was impacted by it and that social workers were contacted - but officials are refusing to give any guidance on the nature of what happened.
Lauren's also unable to ask her child directly because she is non-verbal and has been diagnosed with autism.
The situation has left her a "nervous wreck" and "desperate” for answers which it’s been suggested might never be disclosed.
Lauren told LBC: “Last Monday I got a phone call from the head teacher. The conversation actually started by saying that she needed to read me out a statement pretty much saying there was an investigation ongoing and they couldn’t tell me anything other than my child was safe.
“They told me that my child had been in involved in an incident at the school the week before, that a staff member involved has since been removed from the school and that there was an investigation ongoing.
“They said they couldn’t tell me anything other than that my child was safe and that social workers had to be contacted. However, they deemed it not criminal and they were happy for the Highland Council to carry out their investigations – but until that’s done, I’m not going to be any the wiser.
“When I had contacted the council area educational manager, she actually told me that even after the investigation was finished, I might still not have the right to know what has happened with my child. I’ve also asked how long we’re talking for the investigation, days, weeks, months? And all I was told is they hoped it would start in the next couple of days. But nothing further than that.”
Lauren stresses the identity of the staff member is irrelevant to her and she understands that during an investigation which might not come to anything it may need to be protected.
But she is adamant she deserves at least general details of any allegations which involve her child and says the lack of transparency has forced her to carry out her own enquiries.
“This is regarding my child and I have every right to know how she is involved in it. I feel if it is around how learning and teaching is carried out, every child in the class's family would have been contacted but I know for a fact some haven’t been.
“I’ve had to kind of do my own detective work and find out what I can. We just cannot shift the feeling that with a member of staff removed and social work involved that something serious has happened to get to where we are”.
LBC put Lauren's account to The Highland Council, which didn't dispute any of the details but refused to expand on them or offer clarity on if the term removed meant suspended, only telling us it "is unable to comment on staffing matters".
Legal experts we've contacted believe she may indeed be entitled to more information and could possibly obtain it through a Subject Access Request, but that might take more than a month to come back.
One suggested the teacher's right to privacy could be being incorrectly used to supersede Lauren's right to know what's happened to her child.
We have also asked the school to comment but Lauren didn't want it named in this report because of how much she appreciates the care it's provided her children for years until now - although she has been worried about sending her daughter in since this incident.
“I have worried about putting her into school every single day since I got the phone call. I’ve been a nervous wreck. It’s all I can think about. The children have picked up on it, they know that something’s not right and then they’re not getting me at my best which they deserve.
“It’s just been horrible and stressful. I feel like the whole situation has just been handled wrong. I’ve had advice suggesting I’m well within my rights to get more information as long as the staff member’s name isn’t disclosed. So that has my blood boiling.
“The last thing I wanted to do was take this public but I feel like I’ve had no choice at the end of the day. Nothing I’ve said or done has made the slightest bit of difference. This is king of a last desperation of getting any kind of answers.
“I think it’s absolutely disgusting that they think any parent should have to go through this. It’s not acceptable.”
Fergus Ewing, Constituency MSP for Inverness and Nairn told LBC: "I have been consulted by Ms Selkirk on this matter and have been in direct contact with her to offer my support and advice, as I understand this is an extremely worrying time for her and it is her right, as a parent, to receive information on the incident that involved her vulnerable child."
