An Alexandra teacher with 25-years’ experience was left feeling “great shame and regret’’ after being caught drinking on the job at an early learning centre.
A New Zealand Teachers’ disciplinary tribunal found the woman guilty of serious misconduct.
The tribunal heard the woman, who cannot be identified, was feeling the effects of having drunk two bottles of wine the night before.
On November 23, 2023 while working at an Alexandra early learning centre, in a room with three and four-year-olds, she had a drink bottle containing cider, which she kept on top of a large cupboard, out of the reach of the children.
The teacher returned intermittently to the cupboard to drink about 600ml of cider from the bottle during the morning.
Another teacher brought a child into the room and noticed the classroom teacher’s speech was slurred, her eyes were very red and glassy, and her words were not really making any sense.
Another teacher noticed she was sleepy and slurring her speech.
When approached by the centre’s co-owner she initially denied being under the influence of any substance but after agreeing to let her employer retrieve the drink bottle, admitted to drinking alcohol.
The teacher resigned two days later.
A conviction for drink-driving in 2019 had come to the Teaching Council’s minor convictions panel, which took no further action.
The woman said at the time she was feeling stressed by circumstances both at home and work.
She felt “great shame and regret” over her behaviour.
She did not set out to drink while at work but found a bottle of cider in her car boot and made “an impulsive decision that I deeply regret”.
The Tribunal found the woman ‘s actions constituted serious misconduct but stepped back from cancelling her teaching registration in light of her own rehabilitative work.
However, if she returned to teaching she would have to show any employer the Tribunal’s decision and update the Teacher’s Council on her mental health and “relationship with alcohol for three years.
The woman had let her teaching registration lapse.