A fitness-to-teach inquiry on Wednesday heard allegations of a romantic relationship between a secondary school teacher and one of her Leaving Cert students “during the summer” of 2018.
It was also alleged that between June 14th and June 20th, 2018, while the student was sitting his Leaving Cert, there were daily communications via the social media platform Snapchat between him and the teacher, and subsequently until he received his results on August 14th.
The teacher, who has been on the Teaching Council register since 2014 and was an English teacher at the Dublin school in question, denies these allegations. She now works in another school in a different area of Dublin.
The director of the Teaching Council further alleged that on a date unknown in early August 2018 the teacher had a sexual encounter with the student, which the teacher has admitted to.
RM Block
The director submitted that these allegations of professional misconduct amounted to disgraceful or dishonourable professional conduct of such seriousness as to bring the profession into disrepute.
The director also submitted that the allegations amounted to conduct contrary to provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers including developing positive relationships with students that are characterised by professional integrity and judgment.
A number of witnesses were called to give evidence including the then partner of the teacher at the time of the allegations.
Both he and the teacher had purchased a house in north Dublin, for which he received the keys in August 2018. He detailed how the teacher’s behaviour towards him began to change significantly, particularly at the time of a school trip she went on in August 2018 after the Leaving Cert results were published.
The witness also outlined how their relationship came to an end with both he and her communicating via handwritten notes even though they were both living in their home at the time, albeit sleeping in separate bedrooms.
He further described how he took screenshots of pages of a diary he claims the teacher kept. Excerpts of this alleged diary included: “I know what I did was wrong … I was unhappy. Did I not love [ex-partner’s first name] anymore?”.
The next witness called was a former colleague of the teacher at the Dublin school, who outlined how she and another colleague were made aware in October 2018 by the teacher’s then partner of the allegation that the teacher was having an affair with the student.
When this witness and the other colleague confronted the teacher by phone the teacher denied she was having an affair with the student but admitted to having a “one-off” sexual encounter with him in early August 2018.
As the teacher did not inform her principal of this sexual encounter, her two colleagues did and this was followed by a school disciplinary process and the principal making a complaint to the Teaching Council.
The inquiry reconvenes on Thursday to facilitate cross-examination of the ex-partner of the teacher.
