UK teacher banned for 2-yrs for spraying Asian pupils with air freshener

LONDON - A nursery teacher in Britain, who sprayed Asian pupils with air freshener for smelling of curry, has been banned from teaching for a minimum of two-years.

Elizabeth Davies, 50, who was found guilty of a string of charges by a General Teaching Council for Wales (GCTW), was struck off the teaching register after she humiliated children aged three to six in her primary school class.

“It is our view that Mrs Davies’ behaviour strikes at the heart of what it is to be a teacher,” the Daily Mail quoted panel chairman Peter Williams as saying.

He went on to describe it as a “complete disregard for the children’s dignity which should be preserved at all times”, and that it included an “insensitivity to the (children’s) needs, in particular in relation to their intimate care”.

The Cardiff hearing was told that Davies would use the air freshener in the morning after accusing Bangladeshi children of smelling of “onions or curry”.

The panel heard how Davies, a nursery school teacher for 21 years, would warn youngsters “there is a waft coming in from paradise” moments before targeting them with air freshener.

She would then target a short, sharp squirt at an offending child’s bottom.

Davies, who was working at Hafod Primary School in Swansea at the time, was found guilty of leaving wet or soiled children unchanged and also prevented other support staff changing them.

Children were made to stand on newspaper in their soiled or wet condition until collected by their parents.

The GCTW panel ruled that guilt in all five offences together amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

The prohibition order served on the teacher will operate for a minimum of two years before she is eligible for readmission to the teaching register. (ANI)