Teacher sacked over 'bullied colleague' claim

A TEACHER accused of bullying a colleague who died suddenly has been sacked following an investigation into her conduct, it has been revealed.

She was suspended from her job at High Greave Junior School in Rotherham after allegations about her behaviour emerged and Rotherham Council has now dismissed her for gross misconduct.

There is now no opportunity for her to appeal against dismissal and the case has been referred to the General Teaching Council, which has the option to impose its own sanctions which can involve “striking off” teachers to prevent them ever returning to the classroom.

Teacher Britt Pilton, 29, died last February as a result of bulimia. At an inquest, details of her experience at work emerged and the coroner was told her condition may have been made worse as a result of the levels of anxiety she experienced.

Miss Pilton was found collapsed on a toilet floor at the school and died despite attempts to revive her. Coroner Nicola Munday recorded a narrative verdict, stating she had been “dealing with a number of additional pressures in her working environment which led to considerable levels of anxiety over a period of months”.

The hearing had been told that on the day she died some of her teaching notes had gone missing from a photocopier at the school, leaving her experiencing panic.

Although she searched extensively with a colleague, the documents had apparently vanished from the school.

She had earlier complained to the National Union of Teachers about bullying, but the colleague she blamed found out and confronted her, a colleague said.

Kelly Parkin, a colleague and friend of Miss Pilton, told the hearing the teacher now sacked “would go round and bully a different teacher until they left and Britt felt she was the next one”.

Two or three other teachers had left as a result of bullying by the individual, she said.

Miss Pilton, who lived in Woodlaithes, Rotherham, had been planning to marry in the summer of last year and because of that and her love of teaching children felt unable to leave the position.

Her father Trevor, a retired deputy head teacher, said the anxiety she experienced at work was “almost the sole topic of conversation”.

A council spokesperson said yesterday: “This case has now been resolved and the teacher involved has been dismissed.

“We take all allegations of this type very seriously and in this instance we carried out a full and thorough investigation of the allegations as soon as we were made aware and have taken appropriate action.

“The result of this case will now be passed on to the General Teaching Council to consider.”

The General Teaching Council is the professional body for teachers and is responsible for ensuring good standards are maintained.

It will not comment on individual cases, but where referrals are made a committee investigates the allegations against those involved.

If the teacher is found guilty, a wide range of sanctions are available, ranging from a reprimand to a conditional order which allows a teacher to continue practising, a suspension order or a prohibition which involves permanently striking off a teacher from the profession.

No comment was available from the school.