Tayside Police were right to charge a teacher with assaulting pupils even though her case never went to court, an inquiry has found.
The teacher, who has not been identified, was charged with five minor assaults after an investigation into claims made by several of her pupils.
However, the procurator fiscal then decided not to pursue criminal proceedings.
The woman complained to the force about the way she had been treated, claiming the detective constable who led the investigation was not impartial or thorough and had subjected her to an oppressive and intimidating interview.
She was not satisfied with its response and she asked John McNeill, the police complaints commissioner for Scotland, to step in.
His inquiry has found events began with several pupils being disruptive during a class in a communal area at a school, with one being escorted to a classroom and two others made to stand in a corner.
After the lesson one child phoned his father to claim he had been assaulted.
The family contacted the police and the child and his two siblings made official statements alleging they had been attacked, including claims of being punched in the back and being grabbed by the wrist and neck.
Officers then spoke to other pupils and staff, who gave varying accounts of what had happened.
The other teachers said that some of the children who had made allegations against their colleague were ”not the most reliable witnesses”.
After the case was dropped by the procurator fiscal, the woman’s solicitors wrote to the force claiming the detective constable in charge of the investigation had formed an opinion on the case without considering the evidence and without properly examining the location of the alleged assaults.
They added that their client remained ”extremely distressed” by the handling of her interview and by the ”clear impression” given by the officer that she was guilty.
Mr McNeill said the force’s response to these complaints had not specifically addressed whether the detective constable had tried to find out if some pupils could have witnessed what they claimed to have seen from where they were sitting. He recommended this now be done.
But he added that he had not seen any evidence to suggest the investigation was anything other than impartial.
The commissioner also viewed a CCTV tape of the interview and said he had found no sign of it being oppressive and the teacher had been given the chance to relate her version of events.
Mr McNeill ruled the force took too long to deal with the teacher’s complaint, but he recommended no further action be taken as it has already apologised.