A court has found that a child care teacher who was “happier” and “more chatty” than usual at work had concealed vodka in a Gatorade bottle while working with children.
The New Zealand woman was charged with serious misconduct at the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal over the incident which took place in January 2022.
The court was told that the teacher left the school during her lunch break and bought a 1.25-litre bottle of Nitro vodka and guarana drink, which contained 7 per cent alcohol.
He poured it into a Gatorade bottle and headed back to school.
Her classmates noticed her drinking directly from the bottle throughout the afternoon while supervising the children on the playground.
When asked, she said she was drinking a new sugar-free Gatorade.
Staff described his behaviour at a staff meeting later that day as “very over the top”.
The tribunal was told she was unusually happy, greeted other teachers in an overly friendly manner, slurred her speech, was unfocused, disruptive, confused and drank alcohol during the meeting.
A child care worker was found to have hidden a mixed vodka drink in her Gatorade bottle.
Towards the end of the meeting, one person realized she was drunk and poured the alcohol down the drain and put the bottle in a recycling bin.
When the meeting ended around 6:30 p.m., the teacher was having difficulty walking straight and opening a door; another teacher stopped her from driving home and asked if she had been drinking.
The woman broke down and explained that it was the anniversary of her partner’s death.
After leaving in an Uber, another teacher found an empty bottle of alcohol in the gutter, the court heard.
The court heard the teacher admitted during a meeting with school management that she should have taken the day off and had suffered an anxiety attack.
He apologized for his behavior and said he should have told his colleagues how he felt and sought support, also telling them he began receiving drug and alcohol counseling shortly after the incident.
The court found that the woman’s actions met all the requirements for serious misconduct, which could have adversely affected students and brought the profession into disrepute.
The woman’s classmates noticed the strange behavior (file image)
The court ordered the teacher, who it was heard also had recent drink-driving convictions, to provide any current or future employer with a copy of the tribunal’s findings.
He has also been ordered to provide the Teaching Council with a report on the progress of his rehabilitation every six months.
The woman was also ordered to pay court costs of $1,250.
