Whistleblowing Policy
The staff and governors of The Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation seek to run all aspects of school business and activity with full regard for high standards of conduct and integrity.
In the event that members of school staff, parents, governors or the school community at large become aware of activities which give cause for concern, the Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation has established the following whistleblowing policy, or code of practice, which acts as a framework to allow concerns to be raised confidentially and provides for a thorough and appropriate investigation of the matter to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. Throughout this policy, the term whistleblower denotes the person raising the concern or making the complaint. It is not meant in a pejorative sense and is entirely consistent with the terminology used by Lord Nolan as recommended in the Second Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life: Local Spending Bodies, published in May 1996.
The Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation is committed to tackling fraud and other forms of malpractice and treats these issues seriously. Fairlawn and Haseltine schools recognise that some concerns may be extremely sensitive and have therefore developed a system, which allows for the confidential raising of concerns within the school environment but also has recourse to an external party outside the management structure of the school.
The Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation is committed to creating a climate of trust and openness so that a person who has a genuine concern or suspicion can raise the matter with full confidence that the matter will be appropriately considered and resolved. The provisions of this policy apply to matters of suspected fraud and impropriety and not matters of more general grievance, which would be dealt with under the Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation grievance procedures.