‘Boring’ lessons may see teacher struck off

BREADALBANE: Teaching watchdog also told pupils raced chair along corridor

An English teacher who allegedly caused classroom chaos with her “boring” lessons could be struck off.

Pupils reportedly threw objects during Gillian Scott’s classes and raced chairs up and down a corridor.

Miss Scott was reported to the General Teaching Council by colleagues at Breadalbane Academy who said they had received complaints about her from parents.

The watchdog alleges that Miss Scott showed a “lack of enthusiasm for teaching” which led to pupils becoming disinterested in their studies.

However, Miss Scott’s father, James, believes his daughter is being punished for her role in an incident from 2009, when pupils were forced to wait several weeks for their prelim exam marks.

A former Perthshire teacher faces being struck off for “boring” lessons that prompted complaints from parents and led to chaos in the classroom.

Gillian Scott is accused of a catalogue of incompetency, including failing to stop pupils drawing sexual pictures on their folders.

She was reported to the General Teaching Council by colleagues at Breadalbane Academy, Aberfeldy.

Her father, James Scott believes his daughter is being victimised because of her role in an exams row in 2009, in which pupils waited more than a month for their Higher Prelim marks.

Miss Scott was one of four English teachers who signed a letter to the chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council raising concerns about the then department principal.

Yesterday the teaching council said Miss Scott is alleged to have failed to maintain the council’s standard for full registration while working at Breadalbane between December 2010 and November 2013.

According to the teaching watchdog, academy head teacher Linda Swan and deputy head teacher David Macluskey received complaints from parents about Miss Scott’s teaching.

The teaching council said that lessons around 2011 were “repetitive and too low level in that they had to write an essay on what they did during their summer holidays”.

In a lesson watched by Mr Macluskey, it is reported that “after copying work from the board, several pupils were left waiting for others to finish, which meant their individual needs were not met”.

Pupils described lessons in February 2012, as “boring” and “always the same thing” and according to Mr Macluskey, Miss Scott had pupils copy down learning intentions instead of explaining them.

Miss Scott, who now works overseas, is said to have “set expectations too low” for pupils and on one occasion “told pupils about the characterisation during a clip of Jurassic Park and instructed them to write down the points (she) had made”.

During other classes, pupils were not actively engaged; she failed to use a variety of teaching techniques and her “lack of enthusiasm for teaching and the subject resulted in pupils becoming disinterested”.

In lessons watched by Mr Macluskey in 2011 it is alleged pupils had “inappropriate sexual graffiti on their folders”, and during one lesson, children were “out of control and … throwing chairs”.

In another lesson in May 2011, it is alleged Miss Scott issued a “disproportionate number” of punishment exercises to one child and failed to stop four pupils, put out of class, from “racing a chair up and down the corridor”.

The hearing will take place in Edinburgh on Monday.

...after copying work from the board, several pupils were left waiting for others to finish, which meant their individual needs were not met. DAVID MACLUSKEY, DEPUTY HEAD TEACHER, BREADALBANE ACADEMY