Whistleblowing

The official definition for whistleblowing is ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’. If staff or volunteers believe there is malpractice in the preschool they should report this by following the correct procedures. Their employment rights are protected and they cannot be victimised by the employer as long as the following policy is adhered to.

Clophill Preschool Ltd expects employees who have serious concerns about any aspect of their work to come forward and voice their concerns internally, within the organisation rather than overlooking the problem or “blowing the whistle” to someone outside.  

Clophill Preschool also wishes to encourage employees to feel confident in raising serious concerns and to question and act upon concerns and concerning practice.  

If a staff member feels that they cannot report their concerns to anyone in the setting and that they have a valid complaint they should follow the procedure in this policy.

When should the whistleblowing procedure be used?

To be protected as a ‘whistleblower’, a staff member needs to make a ‘qualifying disclosure’ about malpractice. This could be a disclosure about:

  • threats/risks to the welfare, health or safety of a child or adult

  • criminal offences

  • failure to comply with a legal obligation

  • miscarriages of justice

  • damage to the environment

  • a deliberate attempt to cover up any of the above

It is the responsibility of all staff to report any improper, illegal or negligent behaviour in or connected with the preschool.

The procedure is intended to supplement, rather than replace, the existing Disciplinary, grievance and capability policy (for staff) or the Complaints policy (for non staff) and should not be used inappropriately. Concerns or allegations which fall within the scope of specific procedures, e.g. Safeguarding, will normally be referred under its own procedures.

Complaints that do not count as whistleblowing:

Personal grievances (for example bullying, harassment, discrimination) are not covered by whistleblowing law, unless your particular case is in the public interest. They should instead be reported under our Disciplinary, grievance and capability policy.

 

Depending on the nature of the concern, and the evidence found, possible outcomes include:

• Unable to investigate due to anonymous report and not enough information to proceed

 • If the concern was shared but was inaccurate no further investigation would be carried out

• Where there is believed to be grounds for concern then further investigation will be carried out 

 

Care needs to be taken when carrying out the investigation to:

• Protect the employee(s) concerned

• Avoid alerting anyone about whom a concern has been raised

• Avoid alerting other employees who may then warn the subject of the concern

• Record the information as the record may be used in a formal hearing, if it is a serious complaint  

• Keep all records secure and confidential 

 

You should contact OFSTED, if:

  • You are not satisfied with preschool’s response after you have followed our procedure

  • You feel unable to contact preschool concerned about this particular issue

It’s useful to make notes of any key people involved, dates and times, and to send OFSTED copies of any written complaints you have made.

If you wish to whistle blow to Ofsted:

-call their whistleblowing hotline on 0300 1233155 (8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday)

- email whistleblowing@ofsted.gov.uk

- write to: WBHL, Ofsted, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD

Preschool’s Safeguarding policy must be followed where a disclosure is made relating to the safeguarding of a child.

Whistleblowing protection applies where the person making a disclosure reasonably believes that the information disclosed, and any allegations contained in it, are substantially true. If any disclosure is made in bad faith, or concerns information which is not substantially believed to be true, or if the disclosure is made for personal gain, then such a disclosure will constitute a disciplinary offence.

If a disclosure is made in good faith, but is not confirmed by any subsequent investigation, then no action will be taken against the whistleblower.

Victimisation of an individual for raising a disclosure will be a disciplinary offence.

 

Procedure to be taken by the ‘whistleblower’

  • Concerns should normally be reported in the first instance to the line manager. If this is not possible/appropriate, they should be reported to Imogen.

  • Concerns can be reported verbally or in writing and should include information about the malpractice and reasons for concern.

  • The ‘whistleblower’ may nominate a colleague to be present during meetings in connection with the concerns raised.

    Action to be taken by preschool

  • Preschool must investigate any matter raised under this procedure thoroughly, promptly and confidentially.

  • The management team must decide whether the matter falls within the scope of the setting’s other policies and procedures.

  • The management team will investigate the matter and take action as appropriate.

  • If the ‘whistleblower’ or anyone else connected with the setting is asked or instructed to cover up malpractice, this is itself a disciplinary offence.

  • If malpractice is revealed as a result of any investigation under this procedure, the setting’s disciplinary procedure will be used, in addition to any appropriate external measures.

  • A report should be recorded including a review of practice and changes made where appropriate.

Feb 24