Teacher banned indefinitely after what was spotted in her bag
Her behaviour during assembly sparked concerns
Jemma Kemsley taught at Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School in Warrington(Image: Google)
A Cheshire teacher has been banned from the profession indefinitely after what was spotted in her bag. Jemma Kemsley taught at Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School in Warrington.
A misconduct panel by the Teaching Regulation Hearing (TRA) recently heard that, on September 10, 2021 while she was teaching, staff at the school became concerned with Ms Kemsley's behaviour as she appeared disorientated and was slurring her words.
An eyewitness, named as Person A, wrote in a statement: "On September 10 2021, at 2.45pm we had a whole school assembly on Teams...when Ms Kemsley spoke during the assembly, her voice sounded different and she sounded off. She was over-emphasising things and her voice was louder than usual. Ms Kemsley is usually really poised and well presented, but she was mixing children's names up and sounded slurred."
Person A stated that Ms Kemsley seemed disoriented and could not recall where her phone was, and was unable to organise herself or her belongings, reports the ECHO. The eyewitness also said they had found an empty half bottle of vodka in Ms Kemsley's bag. Person A claimed to have told Person B that Ms Kemsley said she had been drinking alcohol.
When Person B then asked the same question about her drinking during the day, Ms Kemsley told her she had drunk an alcoholic drink at lunch time. The panel considered the witness statement of Person D, who said: "At around 2.15pm on one of the occasions that I went into Ms Kemsley's classroom, I noticed that...half of the children in Ms Kemsley's class were left alone in the classroom.
"There were around 10 to 15 children in the [REDACTED] class. The children were aged between four and five years old....There were no other adults present inside. Ms Kemsley was supposed to be looking after the children and working with them, but she was not there. I looked for Ms Kemsley, and found her locked inside the staff toilet in her classroom."
The panel noted the witness statement of Person E, who described how on September, 10 2021, a child fell over and Ms Kemsley did not react to this. The same day, Ms Kemsley was called into a meeting where she admitted she had been drinking. She tested positive on two alcohol tests.
The matter was referred to the TRA on July 22, 2022. The panel at the hearing last month considered allegations that Ms Kemsley drank alcohol on the school premises, taught and/or were responsible for the teaching of pupils whilst under the influence of alcohol, and by her conduct presented a safeguarding risk to pupils.
Ms Kemsley admitted all her allegations. She further admitted her conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. The panel was satisfied the conduct of Ms Kemsley amounted to misconduct of a serious nature, which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. The panel was therefore satisfied Ms Kemsley was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.
The panel was of the view that it would not be a proportionate and appropriate response to recommend that she shouldn't be banned from teaching. Stuart Blomfield, on behalf of the Secretary of State, ruled Ms Kemsley should be banned from the profession, with a review period of three years.
This means she is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England. She may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until February 5 2029. This is not an automatic right to have the prohibition order removed.
If she does apply, a panel will meet to consider whether the prohibition order should be set aside. Without a successful application, Ms Kemsley remains prohibited from teaching indefinitely. This order takes effect from the date on which it is served on the teacher. Ms Kemsley has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days from the date she is given notice of the order.