A primary school headteacher has been banned from the classroom for storing alcohol in her office and drinking on school premises.
Leanne Grove, former headteacher at Hazeldene School, Bedford, admitted to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) Panel that she had consumed alcohol on the premises before a governor’s meeting and after a parents evening.
A teaching assistant discovered two cans of gin and tonic, one empty and one unopened, in a handbag next to the former headteacher’s desk in March 2023, according to a TRA report.
Concerns were reported by the school’s assistant headteacher, to the vice-chair of governors and the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
She was subsequently suspended from duties at the school and a search was undertaken of her office, before a formal investigation began leading to a report in May 2023. Ms Grove was subsequently referred to the TRA.
She was accused of storing alcohol in the office without permission, storing or possessing alcohol on school premises in rooms which were used by SEND pupils, in open containers and unlocked cupboards.
Further accusations included bringing alcohol on premises when she was not permitted to and attending school on a work day when she had consumed liquor.
Ms Grove admitted the facts of the allegations and that her conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct which could bring the profession into disrepute.
The panel justified Ms Grove’s prohibition because they decided the public interest considerations outweighed the former teacher’s own interests, calling her behaviour “reckless”.
“Ms Grove was an experienced practitioner who would, inevitably, have known that her behaviour was inappropriate and wrong,” the report said. “Even if there was no evidence that pupils had sight of, never mind consumed, alcohol, her actions presented obvious risks.
“Ms Grove did not herself take steps to reduce that risk. Rather, her behaviour was discovered. To that extent her behaviour was reckless.”
The panel gave Ms Grove credit for her candour in addressing how her behaviour was triggered and how she had sought support, but they could not be satisfied there was no risk of repetition.
Ms Grove had been headteacher at Hazeldene School, a primary school, for three years between January 2020 and March 2023.
She made it clear to the panel that she has moved on in terms of her career and has no desire to return to teaching.
