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Teachers' regulator apologises for striking off dead teacher

Reuters A blue plastic cup holding a variety of pencils in the foreground with a blurred out workbook and second plastic cup and pencils in the backgroundReuters
The General Teaching Council for Scotland has apologised for striking off a teacher who had died

A regulator struck off a teacher and made the decision public even though he had died, it has emerged.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) banned former Peebles High School teacher Simon Foster from teaching for two years after he was convicted of domestic abuse and drink-driving offences.

In its decision, GTCS said it made several attempts to contact Foster by email asking him to appear before a panel, and it went ahead in his absence.

But it later emerged that he had died. GTCS has removed the decision from its website and issued an apology.

The modern studies teacher was the subject of the fitness to teach hearing in December last year.

It heard that he was convicted of domestic abuse and drink driving offences at Livingston Sheriff Court in January 2021.

The panel was told he was sentenced to a 15 month supervision period, 130 hours of unpaid work and a two year non-harassment order. He was also banned from driving for 18 months.

Foster quit his job several months after being charged with the offences in 2020.

The hearing heard that the former teacher had not been in touch with the GTCS since 2022 and had indicated that he did not want to participate with the process.

Members of the public contacted the GTCS after the decision was published on its website to inform them of his death.

A spokesperson for the GTCS said: ''We are very sorry for any distress that the publication of the fitness to teach outcome has caused."

They said they encourage teachers who are the subject of referrals to engage with the process, but not all teachers do so.

"In those cases, the process must still continue in the public interest," the spokesperson added.

"We always send notice of a hearing to a teacher using the details we hold for them but some hearings proceed without the teacher present, usually because they have chosen not to participate.

''Where we have confirmation that a teacher has passed away, the individual is removed from GTC Scotland's register and any fitness to teach proceedings end at that stage.

"We have removed the outcome in this case from our website given the information that we have received.''