Drunken teacher left Perth pupils distressed

Hearing decides woman can return to classroom after ‘abuse of trust’

A Perth teacher has been allowed to continue teaching despite being drunk in the classroom.

The 27-year-old turned up for work at Perth High School while under the influence of alcohol, a misconduct panel has heard.

The formerly council-employed English teacher, currently working in insurance, also brought drink into her class.

A General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) panel described the incident as an “abuse of a position of trust” which had caused distress to pupils but stopped short of striking her from the register.

They ruled that counselling and some other conditions would be enough to protect the public and satisfy confidence in the GTCS.

A Perth and Kinross Council spokeswoman said only: “We note the outcome of the GTCS hearing.”

A Perth teacher who was drunk in her classroom and “shouted excessively” at pupils has avoided being struck off.

The 27-year-old turned up for work at Perth High School while under the influence of alcohol, a misconduct panel has heard.

The council-employed English teacher, who has not been named, also brought drink into her class.

Perth and Kinross Council has refused to say if she remains in their employment.

Appearing before a fitness-to-teach panel of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), the woman – listed only as Teacher A – admitted she had been intoxicated during a lesson in January, last year.

Currently working in the insurance industry, she expressed “considerable remorse” and said she was upset that her conduct meant that pupils had “yet again” not received consistent teaching, which she stressed was important to her.

She said she did not get the same fulfilment from her current job and hoped to return to teaching.

The woman told the hearing that she did exercises in the evening – “which she does not always enjoy” – to curb her drinking.

The panel described the incident as an “abuse of a position of trust” which had caused distress to pupils.

However, the GTCS stopped short of striking her from the register after her representative told the panel she expressed “a commitment to teaching”.

The panel ruled that counselling and some other conditions would be enough to protect the public and satisfy confidence in the GTCS.

In its written ruling, the GTCS said: “The panel was of the view that the conduct was not of a type that could never be remedied.

“The panel accepted that the teacher had shown remorse and insight into the conduct.

“She acknowledged that there had been distress caused to pupils in witnessing the conduct and that as a consequence she had to leave halfway through a school year, which had had a detrimental impact on their education.”

The GTCS added: “Whilst the allegation ought to be regarded as serious, it was not at the most serious end of the scale of matters that come before the GTCS.

“The panel considered that a wellinformed member of the public would be satisfied that the matter had been properly investigated and brought before a fitness to teach panel and that this was sufficient in the public interest.”

A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said only: “We note the outcome of the GTCS hearing.”