One in three teachers has been falsely accused of misconduct by a pupil, a survey suggests.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said that school staff are having their careers blighted by malicious allegations. One in six teachers has been falsely accused by a parent or other member of a pupil’s family.

Almost 30 per cent of school staff have had a false allegation made against them the survey of 1,155 ATL members indicates. In half the cases the allegation was immediately dismissed by the school. Police were notified in only 16 per cent of cases.

One half (50 per cent) of school staff said that they or a colleague had had a false allegation made against them in their current school or college by a pupil or a member of a pupil’s family.

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL said: “We are losing good teachers, heads and support staff to the detriment of children’s education.

“We all accept the protection of children is paramount, but that should not be at the expense of natural justice — school staff have rights too.

“This survey suggests huge numbers of staff are facing false allegations every week. It’s time the balance was redressed so that school staff are not presumed guilty until proven innocent,” she said.

The union wants teachers to have the right to remain anonymous following accusations in order to reduce the impact on innocent staff.

The Children Schools and Families Select Committee was told earlier this year that pupils use threats of allegations against their teachers to avoid being reprimanded for bad behaviour.

Dr Bousted continued: “We would also like heads to avoid putting an automatic bar on staff having contact with colleagues, because cutting contact with colleagues compounds stress and feelings of isolation so makes a return to school less likely even when allegations are proved false.”

Louise Davies, an executive member of the union, said: “There are serious concerns that staff are at risk of allegations by a few pupils and copycat claims by others.

“If a pupil has a record of making allegations then staff should be aware of this so they can be extra vigilant for their own safety.

“The pupil may also need to be professionally supported as to why they make such claims.”

Times recommends

• Students abandon the drink for gyms and juice
• Ofsted: third of Baby P-style reviews inadequate
• Top boys' school picks first woman head