A teacher was banned from the classroom after she was so drunk she was unable to lead a classroom of primary school children to assembly, a report said.
Ashley Atkin, 38, was accused of unacceptable professional conduct while she was a teacher at Horn’s Mill Primary School in Helsby, Cheshire, according to a report by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).
It was alleged that on October 20, 2023, a person described as ‘Witness C’ went to her classroom to find Atkin sitting in the dark.
Months before, Atkin had been banned from driving for 18 months after being caught by police at twice the legal limit.
The witness asked if Atkin was ok as she appeared to have been crying. Atkin responded with a ‘tight hug’.
The report said that ‘Witness C stated that there was a smell of alcohol coming from Ms Atkin’.
That morning, children and staff attended the so-called ‘Big Cheese’ assembly, Horn’s Mill’s weekly award for star pupils.
During the school assemblies, it was normal for teachers to ‘to lead the class into the hall and sit down the first pupil and lead the class onto the same row’.
But Atkin, leading her class of year one pupils aged five and six, ‘walked off to sit down on a chair away from her class’.
Other witnesses reported their concerns.
‘Witness D, had to assist by sitting the children down’ and the same witness said Aktin looked ‘dazed’ and ‘was staggering’.
The panel heard Atkin was supposed to announce the ‘Big Cheese’ award winner from her class, but written evidence from a witness whose name was redacted said she lent forward and whispered ‘who is big cheese?’.
The same witness then delivered the award and later said she felt Aktin’s class ‘weren’t safe with her’ because of her ‘slow reaction and slow communication with us as staff and a lack of awareness’.
The report said: ‘Witness B went to see Ms Atkin in the class to see if she was okay and asked to speak with her in the staff room.
‘Witness B asked if Ms Atkin had been drinking, which she denied but admitted she had been drinking heavily the night before.’
In a subsequent investigation interview, Atkin said she had drunk a bottle of white wine and then ‘another small glass’.
She also told a witness during the October 20 incident that she denied drinking that day, but admitted drinking heavily the night before.
The report said that Witness B wished to take Atkin home because she thought she ‘could not continue teaching in her current state’.
Atkin was then taken to the office of Witness B where colleagues discussed her state.
‘After the meeting, Witness A said Ms Atkin smelled so strongly of alcohol and perfume that the office had to be aired out so the ‘pungent’ aroma could clear.
Atkin denied the allegations regarding October 20, 2023, but the investigation by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel found the allegation proven.
Atkin’s behaviour ‘fell significantly short of the standard’ required of a teacher, the panel found. She resigned from Horn’s Mill in December 2023.
The panel also found that Aktin ‘had the makings of a good teacher’, while Witness B said they felt Atkin was a good teacher and could be again if she was given the required support.
In February this year, Atkin told the TRA that she is ‘absolutely devastated’ by what happened and said it is all she can think about.
She added she ‘lost who I was as a person’ but is now in a ‘much better place’.
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Considering the panel’s findings on behalf of education secretary Bridget Phillipson, civil servant Marc Cavey said Atkin is banned from teaching ‘indefinitely’ in England and Wales, with this to be reviewed after a period of two years. This was in line with the recommendations of the TRA panel.
Aktin is not allowed to apply for any teaching post in that period.
Cavey, the chief executive of the TRA, said: ‘I agree with the panel that allowing a two-year review period is sufficient to achieve the aim of maintaining public confidence in the profession.
‘These elements are serious nature of the misconduct found as well as the lack of evidence of full insight and remorse and the risk this creates of repetition.’
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