“The level of force that Mr Arnold used during the restraint was unreasonable and disproportionate.”
The tribunal found Arnold guilty of serious misconduct, censured him and banned him for two years from attending school camps or other school activities involving students staying overnight and administering their medication.
Arnold told NZME he made an “error in judgment in a high-pressure moment”.
“I recognise that I was in the wrong and take full responsibility for my actions.
“From the outset, I have repeatedly apologised, offered counselling and ongoing support to the family, re-established and reinforced school policies and practices, engaged in professional development and remained fully committed to supporting the student throughout this process.”
He said the school had since opted to discontinue camps.
The college is a co-educational independent secondary school for students from Years 7 to 13. At the time of the incident, the college was separated across two campuses.
On May 9, 2024, both campuses were on a school camp at Kokako Lodge, in the Hunua Ranges Regional Park. Arnold was at the camp.
About 11pm, a group of learners and a teacher were playing poker in the kitchen.
The student involved was part of the poker group. He was 14 at the time.
The college was aware that the student had ADHD, high-functioning autism, had run away in the past and was taking several prescribed medications.
His behaviour during the poker game was disrupting other students.
His student’s mentor suggested it was time for bed and that he should take his medication. She spent about 30 minutes talking calmly to the boy about this, but he did not want to go to bed or take his medication.
Arnold was asked to help because the mentor believed the boy would react well to firm male authority.
Arnold did not ask the mentor for information or make an independent assessment of the situation. Instead, he told the student, “You need to have your medication now.”
But the student had already shut down and was non-responsive.
The Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal censured Steven Arnold for his actions. Photo / Jeremy Wilkinson
Arnold then said to him, “I’m going to make you take your medication. I’m going to hold your hands so that you can have this medication.”
Using one of his hands, he took the student’s hands and wrists and held them.
He then covered the student’s mouth and pinched his nose with the intention of making him gasp.
The student’s breathing was obstructed and, when Arnold released his nose, the boy gasped for air.
Arnold told nearby students that his actions were necessary under his duty of care and that they should look away if they wished.
The tribunal heard the mentor was “shocked and appalled” by Arnold’s actions, but felt she could not intervene. She suggested they move the student somewhere more private.
Arnold then used an arm around the student’s back to guide him towards the kitchen.
Restraint continued in camp kitchen
Once in the kitchen, the mentor put the medication into the student’s mouth, which he immediately spat out.
Arnold pressed him against a large fridge and, as the student started to struggle, he sank to the floor.
The student was described as breathing heavily, having a vacant look on his face, shaking and with tears in his eyes.
The mentor noticed the student’s wrists were purple, blue and marked after Arnold let go of them.
Once the student had calmed down, his parents were called. His father arrived to take him home.
The next day, Arnold wrote an apology addressed to the student and emailed it to his mother.
The college offered counselling to the student and his family, and Arnold stood down for one week.
Physical force ‘hasty’
In his submissions to the Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC), which acts as a prosecuting body and refers matters to the separate Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal, Arnold said he was tired after dealing with another incident with a student the night before.
He had recently experienced an incident in which a student hit him with a cricket bat and gouged his eye. He was also aware of a previous incident in which a student had threatened a staff member with a knife, and he was dealing with personal matters, including a serious health issue within his family.
Hughson said in her decision that Arnold’s use of physical force was “hasty”.
“He did not make any independent assessment of the situation and, as soon as [the student] had refused to take his medication, he began restraining him.
“Mr Arnold should have used other behavioural management techniques that were readily available to him.”
Arnold told the tribunal that he should have asked more questions about the medication so he could properly assess the importance of the student taking it.
He accepted that, regardless of how important the medication was, the way he restrained the student and tried to force him to take it was wrong.
He said he was sure there would not be a repeat of his conduct.
The school had since reviewed and changed its approach to medicating students at school.
Further orders made by the tribunal included that Arnold undergo mentoring for one year, and that he pay costs of $3184 to the CAC and $577 to the Teaching Council.
Brianna McIlraith is a Queenstown-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the lower South Island. She has been a journalist since 2018 and has had a strong interest in business and financial journalism.
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