Cookery teachers banned after altering pupils' food

The school launched an investigation after changes were noticed in a lasagne dish made by a pupil

Two cookery teachers have been permanently banned from the profession after altering pupils' dishes in a bid to improve their grades.

A teacher misconduct panel found Amanda McGuinness and Jenna Beale, who worked at The Castle School in Taunton, Somerset, had committed "serious dishonesty".

They both admitted bringing in their own food and improving meals made by pupils.

The Castle School's head teacher James Lamb said it expects the highest standards from its staff and students.

According to a report from the the Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA), both staff members oversaw an assessment in February 2019 which involved pupils making three dishes.

The TRA panel found the teachers altered one or more pupils’ mark sheets to reflect changes made to their work.

They also altered pupils’ time sheets in a bid to cover up the changes that were made to the food itself.

A food technician, called Witness A in the report, was also asked to make dishes “in case a pupil’s own work was not of a sufficiently high standard”.

The teachers' actions were exposed after concerns were raised to the school following a Facebook post.

The two teachers worked in The Castle School's food department

One of the pupils' parents shared on social media a picture of their daughter's lasagne, with a side of nachos and dough balls.

However, according the report, the parent said their daughter had returned two hours later to find "her teacher had added extra components to her dish and moved items around".

The school launched an investigation, and compared the photo on Facebook with the picture on its network submitted as part of the assessment.

It found the nachos were not in a box and cheese was missing, the dough balls had been moved and an extra pot of mayonnaise added.

After the investigation, Mrs McGuinness said that she felt that she was "under pressure" to match the performance of Miss Beale's NEAs from the previous year when she was on maternity leave, the report said.

It added that Mrs McGuinness admitted she had "overstepped the mark" and "got carried away", and said no one had told her to make changes to the dishes.

The panel heard that Miss Beale expressed remorse and she said she was “foolish” and there was “no excuse” for her actions.

The panel found that both teachers’ actions amounted to “serious dishonesty” and failed to uphold public trust.

School 'acted swiftly'

Both teachers were immediately suspended after the investigation.

Mrs McGuinness resigned on February 28, 2019, and Miss Beale was dismissed for gross misconduct the following month.

James Lamb, head teacher at Castle School, said: "The school always expects the highest standards from its staff and students, and this was confirmed by Ofsted in October when it received an outstanding rating.

"At the time, due process was followed throughout, in a timely and swift manner, and reported the potential malpractice to the Joint Council for Qualifications and the Teacher Regulation Agency as soon as the alleged incidents were suspected.

"The school is always happy to work closely with families to ensure that the welfare and wellbeing of everyone involved at The Castle School is maintained."