Sex case could reopen
A Marlborough teacher already struck off by the Teaching Council for having sex with students could be further investigated if new misconduct complaints, separate to her court case, are lodged.
However, parents’ first port of call was still the school and its board, a spokesperson stressed.
The woman, who cannot be named, admitted having sex with two students aged under 16 and sending sexual images and video to a minor last month, and will be sentenced on December 17.
Parents have called for an external investigation following allegations the misconduct spanned at least four years and involved many students aged over 16, which is not illegal but still a breach of the Teaching Council Code and Standards.
But the Ministry of Education said it would not investigate, last week directing concerned parents to complain first to the school and board, before going to the Ombudsman or Student Rights NZ.
A Teaching Council spokeswoman said usually when a teacher’s registration was cancelled, as the result of a criminal conviction, the council’s work ended there.
‘‘Cancellation of registration is the most severe outcome that can be imposed on a teacher – it is the equivalent of being struck off in other professions and means the person cannot teach anymore.’’
However, if the council received a complaint about the former Marlborough teacher about misconduct separate to the court case, the council would initiate its processes from there, the spokeswoman said.
‘‘If anyone has a further complaint about a teacher’s conduct their first port of call is the school and board of trustees.’’
The council would also consider investigating complaints about any other school staff or the principal in relation to the teacher’s behaviour, she said.
‘‘However, no matter the decision to investigate or not, there is nothing more the council can impose on the teacher as they have already been cancelled.’’
Former primary teacher and child advocate Adriana van Altvorst said the Ministry of Education should launch its own investigation into how widespread the woman’s misconduct really was.
But there was no clear mandate about when the Ministry of Education should investigate sexual abuse in schools, she said.
‘‘The Ministry of Education must intervene, to protect the children. Inconsistency is the problem. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.’’
The ministry declined to clarify how it decided which cases to investigate on Wednesday.
Sector enablement and support deputy secretary Katrina Casey said last week while the ministry was not investigating further, it would continue to offer support to the school as required.
‘‘We would expect schools to act on complaints and concerns from parents about the safety and wellbeing of their children at school. We encourage parents with a complaint to speak to the school and the board first,’’ Casey said.
The Marlborough school’s board chairman could not be reached for comment yesterday, but when allegations about the teacher first came to light in May, he said the school had sought advice from the ministry and the council, alongside several other agencies.