Ms Amy Harrison

Introduction

Ms Amy Harrison is a former teacher at St John’s School in Essex who was banned from teaching indefinitely in March 2024 after a Teaching Regulation Agency panel found she had driven with a pupil while over the legal driving limit for alcohol. Harrison denied every allegation, did not attend her hearing, and was not represented. The panel dismissed the May 2021 allegations of drinking at work but found the driving allegation proved. The panel sat on 4 and 5 March 2024; the prohibition order was made on 6 March 2024.

Background Information

Harrison joined St John’s School on 1 September 2008 as a full-time Junior School class teacher and later taught PSHE, Citizenship and Religious Studies in the Senior School — nearly fourteen years at a single school. The panel noted that before 2021 no concerns had been raised about her conduct or ability as a teacher.

The events that ended her career came in two episodes. In May 2021 staff reported concerns that Harrison had been drinking at work; the school responded with informal support rather than disciplinary action. On 2 March 2022 she was involved in a car accident on a school afternoon and was arrested for drink driving, resigning on 31 March 2022. After discussions with the local authority designated officer (LADO), the school was advised to refer the matter to the TRA; the referral was made on 27 January 2023 and the notice of proceedings issued that December.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations and findings. The findings in this section are those of a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel, which reported proving them on the balance of probabilities. Harrison was arrested for drink driving after a car accident on 2 March 2022, but no conviction followed: the police took “no further action” after procedural errors were identified in the handling of her breath and blood samples, rendering the evidential results inadmissible. Harrison denied the allegations in an email of 17 January 2024, did not attend the hearing and was not represented. The panel found both May 2021 allegations — consuming alcohol on the school premises, and smelling of or being under the influence of alcohol while working — not proven.

On the May 2021 allegations the panel heard conflicting accounts. Witness A described slurred speech and eyes that “looked as if she had been drinking”, and said she could smell alcohol on Harrison. Witness B, who described a colleague who “could not string a sentence together”, conceded she had never smelled alcohol on Harrison and could not say whether the symptoms she observed stemmed from alcohol or medication. The witnesses also conflicted over whether anyone had seen Harrison “slumped forward” at her desk — Witness B, the only first-hand witness on that point, said she had not — and the “red wine stains” she recalled were undated and unreported before 28 May 2021. No alcohol was ever found; Harrison used a shared classroom that was never searched. The panel found insufficient evidence and recorded allegation 1, in both parts, not proven.

The driving allegation turned on 2 March 2022. Staff who checked on Harrison that afternoon reported no concerns, but her car was later seen on a roundabout with a smashed windscreen and its airbags deployed, and the LADO confirmed an accident at 4:30pm and an arrest for drink driving. In her police interview Harrison said she had drunk three glasses of wine between 12pm and 2pm that day — inconsistent with what she told school meetings, where she said the alcohol was from the night before. Video of the roadside breath test showed a demeanour the panel considered consistent with someone under the influence, and a witness at the scene described being “met by an extremely strong smell of intoxicating liquor”. A May 2022 toxicology report put her blood specimen above the prescribed alcohol limit, though procedural failures meant it could not be used in court.

Although criminal proceedings were dropped, the panel noted criminal cases require proof beyond reasonable doubt, while its own test was the balance of probabilities. Harrison did not deny having alcohol in her system while driving, and she admitted the pupil was in the vehicle. An email she relied on confirmed there would be no prosecution — she had “not been found guilty of anything”. The panel concluded, given the video footage and her admissions to police, that it was more likely than not she drove over the legal driving limit with a pupil in the vehicle, and found allegation 2 proven.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel held that the proved conduct breached the Teachers’ Standards, including safeguarding pupils’ wellbeing and upholding public trust in the profession, and amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. Though the driving happened away from school premises, it occurred immediately on her return from school and was witnessed by staff. The panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period, citing “a strong public interest consideration in the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils” and “limited evidence of insight and remorse into her actions”.

The decision maker diverged on one point. Marc Cavey, deciding for the Secretary of State on 6 March 2024, agreed that prohibition was proportionate but concluded the panel had placed insufficient weight on Harrison’s efforts to tackle her issues with alcohol and on her previous good disciplinary record; “a four-year review period is required”, he wrote, “to satisfy the maintenance of public confidence in the profession.” No separate mainstream press coverage of the case has been located; the published decision is the public record.

Current Status

Harrison is “prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England”. She may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until 12 March 2028 — not an automatic right; without a successful application she remains prohibited for life. The order takes effect when served, with a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of notice.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The ban ended a teaching career of nearly fourteen years at a single school. Harrison told the panel that her arrest and the bail conditions that followed made it untenable to remain in employment. She said she had attended internet group therapy meetings regularly and had abstained from all alcohol since the middle of 2022 — mitigation the Secretary of State expressly weighted in her favour in allowing a review period. Any return to teaching now depends on sustaining those efforts and developing fuller insight before 2028.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Amy Harrison” — source