Teacher 'drunk' at two different schools banned

A teacher who was found under the influence of alcohol at two schools has been banned from the profession.

Julia Leith, who worked at Judgemeadow Community College in Leicester in 2017 and Robert Smyth Academy in Market Harborough the following year, was investigated after reports of people smelling alcohol.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel said the 60-year-old was "guilty of unacceptable professional conduct".

The prohibition order can be reviewed after two years.

The TRA report said at about 18:30 during an open evening in September 2017, a member of staff at the college reported "concerns over the behaviour and mannerisms of Ms Leith", claiming she had witnessed her being "disorientated and slurring her speech".

On investigation she was found to be "intoxicated [in] manner and smelt of alcohol", with the witness also saying she was "erratic, irrational, emotional and confused" and finding she could not take part in the open evening.

Two members of staff arrived to take her home, going to the back of the college so she "did not have to pass through the open evening events".

Despite a lack of forensic evidence and breath tests from the time, the panel said it was satisfied "on the balance of probabilities that consumption of alcohol had occurred", noting Leith's later verbal denials of alcohol consumption were "inconsistent with her prior written statements".

On 7 December 2018, when she was working at the academy, the panel said a witness raised concerns at about 13:30 Leith was "under the influence of alcohol" and she was "vulnerable to injury due to her state of inebriation".

She was reportedly seen "swaying from side to side as she was walking", before her partner was called.

The panel said the second incident was "very similar in nature" to the 2017 occasion, and noted Leith's "admission of long-term difficulties with alcohol consumption".

While noting her record as a good teacher and saying she had "experienced a number of difficult circumstances between 2016 and 2019", it recommended a prohibition order, adding Leith "did not appreciate the impact of her conduct on others".

"Whilst there was no evidence that Ms Leith's conduct caused harm to pupils, the panel was mindful of the potential harm that could have been caused, had Ms Leith's colleagues not intervened and sent her home," the panel's report said.

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