Gloucestershire teacher barred from profession over drug taking

A teacher has been banned from the profession after being found under the influence of cocaine while on the job.

Sheamol Ali, a supply teacher in Gloucestershire, took the drug on a weekend directly before two days of remote teaching in January 2021.

He was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel.

Mr Ali did not believe he was under the influence of the drug as he was teaching, the panel was told.

The maths teacher, at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School, in Wotton-under-Edge, had taken the cocaine on the weekend of 23 and 24 January, the hearing was told.

On the following two days he taught pupils remotely, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On 26 January, Mr Ali was stopped by police while driving and was arrested when they found marijuana and MDMA in his car, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Officers carried out a blood test which showed he had cocaine and marijuana in his system.

'Pressure of expectation'

However, the levels were below the legal limit and after giving him a formal warning police took no further action.

A police report was then used to determine the drugs used by the teacher, who was employed by supply agency HIE Education Ltd, between September 2020 and January 2021.

A letter from Mr Ali's solicitors stated he was experiencing pressure of expectation in the lead up to January 2021, because of the pandemic and his lack of experience.

The letter also referred to the fact the samples taken from Mr Ali were under the legal limit and, as such, he did not believe he was under the influence of cocaine whilst teaching.

The panel concluded it was not relevant that he was working remotely as he was still responsible for the pupils he was teaching.

Mr Ali is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.

He may apply for the prohibition order to be lifted after five years.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]