Teacher Censured for Stealing Food From Children
NEWS – 4 July 2013
An early childhood teacher was recorded on closed‑circuit television removing food from children’s lunchboxes and placing the items in her pocket and a plastic bag to eat later.
The behaviour was observed on two days in November 2011. A report released this week by the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal has censured the teacher for serious misconduct.
Counsel for the Complainant submitted that relevant factors included:
- the relatively modest value of what was stolen,
- stealing from children is considered at the serious end of the spectrum of unacceptable ethical behaviour,
- the impact on trust within the centre and between the parents and centre,
- the effect on children that they were not believed in the first instance, and
- the respondent’s cooperation with the investigation.
The teacher did not dispute the allegations and has since been open with her current employer about the circumstances of the case. The complainant and the teacher reached an agreement on an appropriate outcome, and the Tribunal considered this agreement to reflect the seriousness of the matter.
However, because the teacher’s former employer did not accept the agreement, the Tribunal decided to formalise it as an order.
Under the order, the teacher must disclose the matter to any prospective employer and provide them with a copy of the Tribunal’s decision.
