A boarding school teacher is facing six professional misconduct allegations in a fitness-to-teach inquiry at Teaching Council in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. One of those allegations is that the teacher let a student drink a glass of wine in his private accommodation, BreakingNews.ie reports.
The teacher's role at the boarding school involved supervisory responsibilities, so he was given on-site accommodation next to the student dormitories.
The male student involved was over 18 at the time and only referred to as Student A. On the night in question, November 28, 2016, the teacher is alleged to have sent text and Whatsapp messages to the student.
It is alleged that the teacher asked Student A over text message to retract information he had given the principal and gardaí. The teacher is also alleged to have continued to contact Student A via Whatsapp and text message after the principal told him to stop doing so.
It is further alleged that the teacher was unable to perform his supervisory duties because he had been drinking alcohol. However, the inquiry was told that it was his night off.
The teacher is alleged to have also left Student A alone in his private accommodation where alcohol was available to the pupil while he was in an upset, distressed state of mind.
It is alleged, as well, that the teacher did not report Student A missing from his dorm at midnight when he knew the teen had drunk alcohol and was distressed.
The inquiry read a written statement from the teacher, which explained that the student was under pressure from his parents to perform well academically, but found himself uninterested in his studies. The teacher said the student came to his apartment the night of November 28, 2016.
As it was his night off, the teacher had been drinking wine in his accommodation. They discussed the student's academic performance, but the young man became upset when the teacher asked him if he'd been taking Ritalin that was not prescribed to him.
Student A became distressed and ripped his own shirt. The teacher left his apartment, and upon returning found that the pupil was gone.
Gardaí later picked up the student, who was brought to the principal and eventually a garda station as well. On November 29 the teacher was suspended on full pay and it was recommended he not contact the student in question.
However, the teacher continued to reach out to the student via Whatsapp, including a message that read, "It was really nice tonight before I f**d up."
The teacher asked Student A over Whatsapp what he had shared with the gardaí. The pupil replied that he'd said they'd gotten drunk and had a fight. The student's father ended their communication, sending the teacher a message that read, "This is (Student A's) father. No more Whatsapp".
The teacher claimed in his statement that these messages were attempted apologies for what had transpired. He wrote, "I wanted to take the blame for him getting drunk to give him a way out of the terrible situation he had put me in."
A student and a teacher drinking alone in the latter's home would be 'very unusual', the principal noted at the inquiry.
"You would never drink on your own with a student….because you leave yourself open to all sorts of accusations….If a student told me they were drinking alone with a (member of staff) I would be furious," he continued.
The teacher's Counsel argued during the inquiry that the teacher's supervisory responsibilities do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Teaching Council. She said that the supervisory role is different to that of a teacher.
The inquiry, the second of its kind in state history, continues next week.
