Ms Caroline Latham

Introduction

Ms Caroline Latham was a primary school class teacher at Tower View Primary School in Burton upon Trent from 14 April 2013 until her resignation on 24 March 2021. In November 2023 a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found proved allegations concerning her behaviour towards individuals including children and her alcohol misuse, and her failure to engage with the support services put in place to address them. The panel found her conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, and the Secretary of State banned her from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Latham’s difficulties came to official attention in autumn 2020, near the end of her time at the school. Allegations were made at the end of September 2020 by Individual D, and later by Individual E and Individual A, regarding incidents of behaviour the published decision redacts. Agencies became involved, a safeguarding plan was put in place and regularly reviewed, and referrals to support services were made for Latham and Individual A — including, on 29 October 2020, a referral to NHS drug and alcohol services because of concerns surrounding her alcohol consumption. The redacted categories in the plans are not spelled out in the published decision, but excessive alcohol misuse was noted as a factor.

Her engagement with that help was minimal on the panel’s findings. After ten scheduled sessions beginning on 21 January 2021, the alcohol service closed the case due to “non-meaningful” engagement: Latham properly attended one of the ten hour-and-a-half sessions, cut four short to less than ten minutes, and missed five entirely. The school investigated in February 2021, and Latham resigned on 24 March 2021, ahead of a disciplinary hearing scheduled that week. The TRA panel heard the case virtually from 20 to 24 November 2023: Latham was absent on the first day — the panel found she had waived her right to attend after the TRA telephoned her five times and emailed repeatedly — but attended from day two, unrepresented, and gave evidence.

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 at a hearing partly held in a teacher’s partial absence. Latham denied the facts of the allegations and that they amounted to unacceptable professional conduct or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute; she was absent on day one, attended and gave evidence on days two to five, and was not represented.

The panel found proved that, following the autumn 2020 referral, Latham was made subject to a safeguarding plan as a consequence of concerns she had engaged in behaviour — the decisive word is redacted in the published decision — towards Individual D, Individual E and/or Individual A, and behaviour which potentially harmed Individual D and/or Individual E. The plans recorded a deterioration in the children’s emotional wellbeing, and one recorded that if Latham “continues to refuses [SIC] to engage in any of the recommended work she is not going to recognise the impact of her actions on the emotional well-being” of the children. The panel also found proved the allegation of alcohol misuse. A witness from the alcohol charity described signs of alcohol withdrawal at Latham’s January 2021 session and noted that she had previously been admitted to hospital following convulsions relating to alcohol withdrawal, which can be fatal; the witness said Latham “was not prepared to accept her issue with alcohol and would often deflect”. Latham denied the allegation initially but accepted in evidence that she had an issue with alcohol.

The second cluster of findings concerned her treatment of the professionals trying to help her. The panel found she failed to engage with organised support services to a meaningful extent, that core group meetings became so hostile after six sessions that separate meetings had to be held, and that she shouted at, swore at, and was derogatory towards professionals — including telling an alcohol worker “Oh fuck off” and ending a session, and telling a meeting “fuck off, just fuck off”. Witnesses described her as “venomous all the time”; one professional was made ill and taken off the case. The panel also found she continued to be under the influence of alcohol in one or more meetings, attending physically shaking, unwell and smelling of alcohol. It found this conduct would be likely to impact her ability, and public confidence in her ability, to ensure the safety or security of children in her care — noting her proven behaviour had harmed children and conflicted completely with a teacher’s duty to work with other professionals on safeguarding.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel noted a “complete absence of insight and remorse” in Latham’s conduct through the proceedings: she denied the majority of the allegations, blamed others, and when asked whether, in hindsight, she would have done anything differently, answered “no”. It found a real risk of associated behaviour if she were allowed to continue teaching, and recommended a prohibition order with no review period. The decision maker agreed, giving considerable weight to the lack of insight and remorse and to the seriousness of findings that included redacted behaviour towards others, including children, and concluded that allowing a review period would not maintain public confidence in the profession. The order was signed by decision maker Marc Cavey on 28 November 2023.

Current Status

Ms Caroline Latham is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. In view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved, the Secretary of State decided she shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach — the ban is permanent, with no review mechanism. The order took effect when served on her, and she had 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 24 years’ experience, of which nearly eight were spent at Tower View Primary School. The panel acknowledged Latham’s evidence that a pupil team had won a gold award in a science competition and that she had helped the school achieve its Primary Science Quality Marks, but no documentation or witness evidence other than her own attested to her teaching record, and it found her behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher. Her conduct occurred outside the classroom but was directly linked to how she fulfilled her role, because safeguarding and multi-agency cooperation sit at the core of the job. The published record does not describe her circumstances since the order.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Caroline Latham” — source