HR Investigations in Schools: Best Practice Guide

Last reviewed: February 2026

Faced with an HR investigation in your School or Trust? What can you do to avoid risks and get it right first time?

When it comes to investigations, school leaders tell us their top priority is having matters resolved swiftly and professionally.

But when the resources or knowledge to manage investigations internally aren’t available, it often leads to delays or a lack of progress, even when quick action is crucial.

HR investigations are complex, structured pieces of work that require careful handling to get right. In education, where children's safeguarding is a major concern, schools risk serious reputational damage or even legal repercussions if cases are mismanaged.

Whether it’s your first case or you need a refresher, we’ll guide you through practical tips for conducting HR investigations to keep the process calm, fair and transparent for all involved.

What is a HR investigation?

HR investigations examine allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct in the workplace, including harassment, discrimination, safeguarding, or any other behaviour that violates company policies, procedures, or legal regulations.

As outlined in the Acas code on disciplinary and grievance, investigations allow schools and trusts to gather evidence from all sides, find out if there is a wider case, and help leaders decide what should happen next - all while ensuring fair treatment for those involved.

When schools or trusts fail to address complaints, it can create an uncomfortable working environment, lead to low morale, and even increase turnover. Outside of workforce risks, it could also bring them into serious disrepute.

Investigating misconduct demonstrates your commitment to maintaining a respectful and safe workplace. It identifies and addresses problematic behaviours and gives employees confidence that the appropriate process will be followed if they experience misconduct.

When do you need to investigate?

The first step of any HR investigation should be determining if an investigation is actually needed, and when it’s not.

To keep it simple, ask yourself these three questions:

Are any facts unclear or disputed?
Are there multiple accounts of the reported misconduct?
Is there potential for a formal outcome (e.g. disciplinary action)

Even in cases where you may not need to fully investigate, you should still aim to keep a clear note about the allegation raised and the action you took in line with your School or Trust policy.

If you decide that investigating alleged misconduct is the appropriate course of action, you’ll need to move swiftly to plan your next steps.

How to prepare for an investigation

If, after preliminary checks, you’ve decided that the appropriate action is to investigate, what comes next?

Before you begin, it’s helpful to write down the proposed scope of your investigation – it’ll keep the process on track and help you plan deadlines.

Key points to note:

The allegation or concern you’re investigating
The timeframe you aim to stick to
What your investigation will and won't cover
The questions you need to answer at interview.
Your School or Trust's policies and procedures
Who your potential witnesses are
What supporting evidence can be supplied? (CCTV, attendance logs, reports etc)

You’ll also need to decide who to appoint as your Investigating Officer.

This can be an internal colleague with no prior relationship to the people involved, or an external consultant. Crucially, it must be someone who will remain impartial throughout the process.

Your Investigating Officer will need tools and resources to conduct their work, so review the following before your investigation begins:

Throughout the investigation, your employee has the right to robust communication, so keep them up to date on expected timeframes in advance.

How to run fair, well-managed interviews

Conducting interviews with witnesses and the parties involved requires careful communication, confidentiality and consistency throughout.

Schools are busy, and people’s memories can be patchy, so providing reasonable notice and a clear agenda of what will be covered allows for better-quality notetaking and a calmer interview process.

During your interview stage, investigating officers should aim to ask open-ended questions, listen carefully, and seek to confirm the accuracy of the interviewees statements.

Use these helpful pointers to guide your Investigating Officer during the meeting:

Tell the interviewee how their notes will be taken and used
Ask open questions first to guide the conversation
Follow up with specifics to add credibility to the interviewee's statements
Steer interviewees back on track if the conversation diverts.

Investigating officers must ensure they ask the right questions and gather all relevant information while maintaining confidentiality, so that all parties are treated with respect and fairness.

After conducting interviews, investigating officers must carefully review all evidence and determine the credibility of each witness; there must be no bias or prejudice in their analysis.

Documenting your investigation

Evidence has been gathered, and interviews have been conducted. Now it’s time to document your investigation in a clear report.

Your investigating report doesn’t need to be long, but it should clearly outline:

Background and scope
Process followed (who you spoke to, what you reviewed)
Evidence summary (fact-based, with references)
Findings (what you believe happened, based on evidence)
Areas you couldn’t conclude (and why)
Recommendation (e.g., proceed to disciplinary/no further action/informal management action.

Now that the Employment Rights Act is set to extend the tribunal window from 3 to 6 months, having a clearly documented investigation report will demonstrate that your investigation was conducted fairly and impartially. If legal action is taken, you’ll have clear evidence recorded.

Handling your investigation outcome

After completing an HR investigation, the appropriate course of action must be determined. The Investigating Officer should submit their report to the Commissioning Officer, who will determine the next steps. This could be:

No further action
An informal outcome (e.g. a meeting to discuss behaviour and expectations)
Convene a disciplinary hearing.

Common pitfalls to avoid during a disciplinary investigation

Last year alone, we conducted 50+ investigations on behalf of schools and trusts. Here are some of the most common mistakes that we see:

Investigations are not thorough enough - Investigating Officers must review all evidence and interview all relevant parties.
Confidentiality breaks - Investigating Officers must ensure that all parties involved understand the confidentiality requirements and that they are not sharing information with anyone who is not directly involved in the investigation.
Failing to comply with all relevant laws and regulations - Investigating Officers must comply with these laws; failure to do so can lead to legal consequences and damage the organisation’s reputation.
Not reacting to safeguarding concerns quickly enough - Investigating Officers should aim to conclude their investigation as swiftly as possible, whilst ensuring they allow time for a thorough investigation.
Seeking evidence to confirm guilt and failing to consider exculpatory evidence - Investigating Officers should focus on seeking the facts of the matter being investigated and consider all evidence.
Producing an inadequate investigation report - Investigating Officers should ensure their investigation report covers all allegations and highlights the key evidence considered when reaching their conclusions.

FAQs schools and trusts often ask

This depends on the matter being investigated. As a general rule, an investigation should last long enough to be fair, but not so long that it becomes harder to manage. Set a timetable early and update it if you need to.

Impartiality is a big factor in investigations, which is why many schools and trusts choose to outsource to an external consultant rather than seeking resources internally.

From the cases we’ve seen, schools tend to outsource when:

It has a smaller structure, and independence is hard to demonstrate
The case is high-profile, sensitive, or likely to be challenged
The case has multiple witnesses or complex evidence
Extra capacity to run an investigation is needed quickly.

It depends on the process stage, your policies, and the specifics of the case. Be consistent and get advice if you’re unsure.

Selecting an impartial investigator with the necessary skills is crucial to a successful investigation.

Aim for someone trained, confident, and as independent as possible from the events and individuals involved - think, an individual from another department. If that’s hard internally, external support can help.

Your Investigating Officer also needs to understand the employee’s legal rights and ensure they are adhered to, so that appeals and potential legal claims are avoided.

Schools and trusts should follow safeguarding procedures and guidance immediately, using the latest KCSIE guidance.

You can still run HR processes, but you may need to pause or adapt them depending on advice and risk.

How we can support you

Looking for an impartial and experienced pair of hands to assist with an investigation? You’re in safe hands. Our team of consultants work exclusively on education cases, making them well-equipped to support your case.

To learn more about our consultants and the specifics of our Investigations and Notetaking services, browse our HR Consultancy Brochure, or get in touch to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation to find the right service for you.

Conclusion

Successful investigations promote a positive workplace culture and protect the reputations of schools and trusts. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to protecting your organisation and ensuring that best practice is followed.