Gledfield Primary teacher facing watchdog probe accused of failing to act on 'multiple child protection concerns'
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A HIGHLAND teacher is to face 10 days of hearings at the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) amid allegations a teacher failed “to act upon multiple child protection concerns.”
The GTCS convened the fitness to teach hearings to determine if the Highland Council teacher failed to protect pupils from bullying, intimidation, humiliation and physical and other abuse – by another teacher between August 2016 and September 2019.
No one was named in the notice but the hearings begin next week and will continue over the summer with the teacher likely to appear on the following dates: from June 14 to 16; from August 23 to 25 and August 29 to September 1.
Perhaps the most serious allegations concerned the actions of another member of staff – named Colleague A by the GTCS – and how the teacher failed to take action despite concerns from two colleagues about “Colleague A’s treatment of children in her class”.
The teacher was accused of doing nothing after being told that “Colleague A was shouting at pupils in an aggressive and intimidating manner and causing them distress and humiliation”.
The allegations also state that Colleague A was “bullying and intimidating a pupil by refusing to allow him out on break and lunch and keeping him back at the end of the school day” without telling his parents, and how they regularly prevented “pupils going out on break and deliberately making them late for lunch or gym”.
There was even an example of alleged physical abuse stating no action was taken despite “Colleague A grabbing a boy by his arm”.
The unnamed teacher is also accused of keeping several parents in the dark about alleged physical abuse inflicted by one pupil on others.
The teacher also failed to complete a Child’s Plan in respect of Pupil A on time which delayed appropriate assistance and failed to “share details of physical and mental abuse suffered by Pupil A” with mental health professionals assessing the child.
There were also a number of issues regarding management of staff and training, including asking a probationary staff member to “fabricate that she had been subject to class observations by another teacher” when it had not taken place.
Another allegation states that: “In or around June 2019 failed to ensure that Colleague B’s final report for GTC Scotland was signed timeously, thus resulting in a loss of earnings for Colleague B.”
The teacher, it is alleged, asked “a member of staff at Edderton Primary School, namely Colleague E, to state that they had attended a Child Protection training session when the Teacher knew this was not the case.”
The teacher’s actions were alleged to be dishonest or lacking in integrity.
The notice concluded: “In light of the above it is alleged that the Teacher’s fitness to teach is impaired, and she is unfit to teach as a result of breaching Parts 1.3, 1.4, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 4.1 and 4.4 of the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Code of Professionalism and Conduct (COPAC) 2012.”
