A teacher has been banned from the classroom for two years after admitting to drinking a “Costa cup of wine” in the morning before attempting to lead a class.
Lesley Beuscher admitted that she had “consumed a small amount of alcohol” on the morning of 26 June 2023, but claimed that it would have no effect on her ability to carry out her duties.
However, a member of staff became concerned that she was not well enough to be teaching and informed another teacher, asking them to observe the classroom.
In a witness statement, the fellow teacher, known as Witness A, said: “Lesley Beuscher appeared to be struggling and confused. Once she managed to load the programme, I noticed that her speech was slurred.
“Initially, due to the time of the day, I was concerned that Lesley Beuscher was potentially suffering a stroke. However, when I got closer to Lesley Beuscher, I realised that it was more likely that she was under the influence of alcohol as I noticed the smell coming from her.”
Once she had been removed from the classroom, Ms Beuscher apologised and said that the “children deserved better” and admitted to being under the influence.
In her evidence, Mrs Beuscher accepted that she smelt of alcohol and admitted to having consumed a “small Costa cup of wine” across the road from the school.
However, she denied previously attending her workplace while drunk and stated in her statement that she was aware of the repercussions of drinking.
In June 2021, she had been convicted of being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and received 10 penalty points on her licence.
The panel concluded that Mrs Beuscher was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct which fell short of the standards required in the teaching profession.
The report noted: “The panel noted that Mrs Beuscher made a conscious decision to consume alcohol before the start of the school day on 26 June 2023 in knowledge that she would be teaching young, impressionable children.
“The panel considered that Mrs Beuscher’s conduct in allegations 1(a) and 1(b) exposed pupils to a risk of harm.
“The panel noted that by smelling and appearing to be under the influence of alcohol, Mrs Beuscher did not provide a safe environment for those pupils in her care, in particular, Mrs Beuscher limited her ability to prevent any harm to pupils and increased the chance of inadvertently causing harm to pupils.”
She has now been made the subject of a prohibition order which bans her from teaching in any school, college or educational institution, which will be reviewed after a period of two years.
