Porthmadog teaching assistant drunk in class reprimanded

A primary school teaching assistant was found drunk in a classroom two weeks after starting work, a fitness to practise hearing was told.

Katherine Herbert was also seen to stumble along a corridor, an Education Workforce Council panel heard.

Mrs Herbert, from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, admitted unacceptable professional conduct.

She received a reprimand following the incident at Ysgol Borth-y-Gest in September 2016.

Mrs Herbert did not attend the hearing and was not represented.

In her absence, a letter was read to the panel in which she said she had no intention of going back into education, adding she was "very sorry".

"I cannot change what I have done but only regret it," she wrote.

Head teacher Joanna Thomas told the hearing Mrs Herbert started to work part-time at the school, providing one-to-one supervision for a pupil.

A colleague reported to Mrs Thomas that Mrs Herbert appeared drunk while in a classroom with the boy.

Officials from Gwynedd council were called and, while waiting for them to arrive, Mrs Herbert was said to have fallen asleep in the staff room.

Mrs Herbert was suspended but resigned before a disciplinary hearing was called.

Announcing the committee's findings, chairman Gareth Roberts said the reprimand would remain on Mrs Herbert's record for two years.