{"id":645447,"date":"2026-10-30T03:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T03:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/645447\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T03:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T03:14:11","slug":"early-childhood-teacher-loses-registration-after-using-methamphetamine-on-lunch-breaks-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/645447\/","title":{"rendered":"Early childhood teacher loses registration after using methamphetamine on lunch breaks"},"content":{"rendered":"

An early childhood teacher who cared for children while high on methamphetamine says she hopes one day to return to the profession.<\/p>\n

The woman, who has permanent name suppression, used the drug before work and on lunch breaks to help her cope with stressful situations at the centre where she worked.<\/p>\n

She told the Teacher’s Disciplinary Tribunal at a hearing in September that she was sober and missed the children she worked with.<\/p>\n

“I am fully aware of the danger that I put them in. I’m remorseful for that; I apologise.<\/p>\n

“I’m only 22 days sober, but I’d like to believe, and I feel confident, in a year’s time I’ll be able to go back into the teaching sector.”<\/p>\n

On Friday, the tribunal released its decision on penalties and found the teacher was not fit to return to teaching with an active addiction, cancelling her registration and censuring her.<\/p>\n

“Cancellation is not necessarily the end of the respondent’s teaching career,” tribunal chairperson James Gurnick said in the decision.<\/p>\n

She might apply for registration in the future, depending on the evidence of her recovery at that time, he said.<\/p>\n

According to the summary of facts, between October 2023 and September 2024 the teacher used methamphetamine during the working week.<\/p>\n

This included before work in the mornings and, on particularly bad days, during her lunch break at her nearby home.<\/p>\n

She was under the influence of the drug during work hours while responsible for the care and welfare of learners.<\/p>\n

The woman told the tribunal that using meth gave her confidence and made her feel numb, which helped her cope with stressful situations at the centre.<\/p>\n

The summary also stated she failed to inform her employer of her drug use.<\/p>\n

In June and July 2024, the teacher attended multiple meetings with the centre director dealing with concerns about her teaching practice, including forgetting to record feeding, sleeping and nappy-change times, resulting in parental concerns, as well as inappropriate language and communications with staff.<\/p>\n

She signed a voluntary undertaking not to teach in November 2024 and has not taught since.<\/p>\n

The teacher told the tribunal she had since separated from her partner, a fellow drug user, relocated and sought to engage with several support services.<\/p>\n

“Teaching is my passion and teaching is what I will strive for and reach sobriety,” she told the tribunal at the September hearing.<\/p>\n

She said she accepted the charges and that cancellation of her registration was the only acceptable outcome.<\/p>\n

“Even though it breaks my heart, I will accept the consequences.”<\/p>\n

Gurnick said the tribunal accepted her remorse and insight into the danger she had placed children in as entirely genuine.<\/p>\n

“We were unanimous in our view that she showed enormous courage in attending and speaking to us as she did.”<\/p>\n

But at the date of the hearing her sobriety stood at 22 days, without independent verification, compared with the minimum benchmark of six months’ verified abstinence required for any return to teaching.<\/p>\n

“We hope that, once she has achieved sustained sobriety and obtained the treatment she needs, she will be in a position to return to the teaching profession.<\/p>\n

“Nothing in this decision should discourage her from continuing the work she has begun; on the contrary, we encourage it.”<\/p>\n

The woman was not ordered to pay costs due to her “stark” financial situation.<\/p>\n

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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