A teacher has admitted submitting a forged document about her teaching qualifications to the Teaching Council in what was described as “a desperate act” as her hopes of obtaining registration were “melting away".
A fitness-to-teach inquiry held by the Teaching Council on Friday heard that the 29-year-old teacher also accepted that she had provided false information to the regulatory body about her training experience.
The teacher, who cannot be named by direction of the council’s disciplinary committee, did not attend the inquiry on Friday, but her legal representative said at the outset of the hearing that his client admitted the seven allegations against her.
Solicitor, Shane MacSweeney, said the teacher, who currently works at a college of further education, did not feel in a position to attend the inquiry due to suffering daily panic attacks.
Professional misconduct
Mr MacSweeney said the teacher also accepted that her behaviour was dishonest and constituted professional misconduct and breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers.
He told the inquiry that the teacher had made a grave error of judgement that had occurred during a series of correspondence “without time for reflection".
Mr MacSweeney said the creation of the false document was “a desperate act” by someone who did not have a proper understanding of what was required to obtain qualified teacher status.
He said it was not a pre-planned fraud but a “ham-fisted effort” which happened as the teacher saw her chances of being registered as a post-primary teacher “melting away.”
However, Mr MacSweeney claimed there was an element of “charge stacking” against the teacher as the allegations effectively related to at most two actions.
The solicitor argued the number of wrongdoings of which she was accused was “harsh".
The inquiry heard that the teacher created a false document purporting to be a certificate issued by the UK’s Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) which confirmed that she had attained qualified teacher status.
She was also accused of submitting the forged document as part of her application to register with the Teaching Council on August 12th, 2020.
Counsel for the Teaching Council, Caoimhe Daly BL, said five other allegations related to dishonest communications by the teacher in a series of emails to the Teaching Council in September 2020 which included references to the forged document.
They also related to false claims that she had completed her teacher training in Scotland and that she had obtained her qualified teacher status from the General Teaching Council of Scotland.
The teacher, who has an undergraduate degree in Irish and French, was pressing the Teaching Council to register her as a fully qualified teacher to allow her to avail of substitute teaching hours that she had been offered by a school in Ireland.
Ms Daly said the teacher’s conduct represented a breach of her professional code of conduct in relation to the requirement to act with honesty and integrity and to uphold the reputation and standing of the teaching profession.
The inquiry heard that the teacher holds a postgraduate qualification from the University of Sunderland, but it does not suffice to obtain qualified teacher status.
She was also registered with the General Teaching Council of Scotland but it was conditional on her carrying out 270 hours of teaching practice to be fully qualified.
Ms Daly said the false document from the TRA was submitted after the Teaching Council had informed her in August 2020 that her existing qualifications did not make her eligible for full registration.
However, the inquiry heard verification checks conducted by Teaching Council staff showed the TRA had no record for the teacher, while she had not carried out any teaching practice in Scotland.
False claims
When challenged about the false claims, the teacher stated she had made a genuine mistake of putting her Scottish registration number on a TRA form and never intended to mislead the Teaching Council.
However, Ms Daly said the TRA had confirmed that it would not be possible to download such a form from its website unless one’s qualified teaching status had been verified.
The inquiry heard the teacher was shocked when the veracity of the TRA form was challenged and claimed she did not know at the time that there were different registration systems for teachers between England and Scotland.
Mr MacSweeney claimed his client was genuinely confused when her original application was refused by the Teaching Council as she believed her qualification from the University of Sunderland met the criteria for registration.
However, Ms Daly said the teacher had claimed in June 2021 that she was “incredibly disappointed” that an organisation which acts “with the utmost professionalism and integrity” like the Teaching Council would not allow someone to make a genuine mistake instead of making them “go through a terribly stressful process.”
The inquiry heard that the teacher had also made a complaint to the Ombudsman about how the Teaching Council had treated her.
In one exchange she stated: “I am a person of good character who made a genuine mistake.”
However, Ms Daly said there was a serious level of dishonesty in the teacher’s actions.
Pleading for leniency, Mr MacSweeney said his client had learnt her lesson, while there was never any issue with her teaching of students.
The solicitor said a decision to suspend the teacher would represent a loss for her current school and its students with whom she had an established relationship for several years.
A ruling on any sanction is expected to be issued next week.
