Emma Jones, 29, was dismissed from her job at Ysgol-y-Traeth, in Barmouth, after being cautioned following her arrest in March last year over the two bottles of methadone and heroin wraps found in her car.But yesterday a General Teaching Council for Wales panel ruled she may go on working provided she’s drug-tested every three months.Further, if she finds a teaching job in the next year she must also make her new employers aware of her past offence as well as the GTCW’s ruling.Peter Williams, chair of the GTCW panel, said Miss Jones’ actions were too serious to avoid a sanction. He said: “We decided to impose a conditional registration order. The possession of Class A drugs is fundamentally incompatible with continuing to be a registered teacher. But we don’t believe she poses a significant risk of repeating this behaviour.”Mr Williams said the Year 4 teacher, who had earlier apologised unreservedly and accepted full responsibility, had been attending a substance misuse centre since March last year and tested negative.He said he was mindful of the fact that after Miss Jones lapsed into drug addiction she received little help from the Gwynedd primary school or her employers – the local authority. Miss Jones said she made several requests to see the school and Gwynedd Council’s policy on dealing with drug and alcohol dependent staff, but it was never produced.The teacher, who was arrested in full view of staff and pupils at the school at 8.45am on March 7 last year admitted her actions amounted to unacceptable professional conduct. But she said she was going through a time of great personal stress after a split with her ex-fiance, also an addict.The presenting officer Gwenno Hughes, said school staff members suspected she had been using heroin in a classroom toilet.They reported finding foil stained with black markings and said there was a heavy smell of deodorant in the toilet on October 11, 2006.But yesterday Miss Jones, dressed in a smart black trouser suit, said she had never used heroin on the school grounds.
She said the foil wraps had belonged to her boyfriend and she put them in the toilet bin when the school was breaking up for four days.Miss Jones, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, was then suspended before being given a final warning and eventually dismissed in July 2007 following her arrest.She said: “I stupidly and irrationally turned to drugs (after her suspension in October 2006).“It’s a decision I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.
“But this was at a time when I was suffering acute anxiety during my suspension.”
Representing the teacher, Robin Jones said: “She made several requests to see the policy on drug and alcohol dependency, but she was kept in the dark.”Miss Jones also claimed she was victimised and bullied by the school’s head teacher Ywain Myfyr.She said the head made a personal comment about a low-cut top she wore and told her to dress like other staff.Miss Jones claimed the head suggested her work was sub-standard and he would be calling into her lessons unannounced to monitor her performance.But Mr Myfyr told the hearing, sitting at the St David’s Park Hotel in Ewloe, Flintshire, he took a “softly, softly” approach with Miss Jones because her work began to suffer after one of her pupils died at the end of 2005.
Mr Myfyr said he pleaded with school governors to give her one final chance after the discovery of the foil in the toilet.He said the decision to dismiss her from the 190-pupil school was made by the local authority and he had no hand in it.