Ms Rachel Bruce

Introduction

Ms Rachel Bruce was assistant head teacher at Riverside Special School in East Yorkshire, where she had worked since 1 January 2015 and sat on the senior leadership team. On 13 June 2020 she drove a car at Snaith after drinking, recording 112 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, and was convicted that September. Colleagues later alleged she joined a Covid-19 video call while under the influence of alcohol, triggering a school investigation after which she ceased employment there. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel found the conviction proved as a relevant offence in March 2025, and the decision maker acting for the Secretary of State banned her from teaching indefinitely.

Background Information

Ms Bruce joined Riverside Special School as assistant head teacher on 1 January 2015 and served on its senior leadership team. Witnesses told the panel she had previously worked as an educational psychologist, and one said she was a “really good teacher” who “understood the children” because of that background. Another described her as “very good at safeguarding” and “very good at planning”, while noting that “teaching was not her major strength”. The panel accepted there was evidence of Ms Bruce’s ability as an educator and that she had made a valuable contribution, but noted that no character statements or references attesting to her ability had been provided to it.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The events that ended Ms Bruce’s teaching career began on 13 June 2020, when she drove a motor vehicle at Snaith in the East Riding of Yorkshire after drinking. A member of the public who witnessed the driving gave a statement to the police recording that children got out of her vehicle — the number of children is redacted in the published decision. Ms Bruce reported the incident to the School on 14 June 2020; the School sought advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer, put measures in place such as a precautionary transfer of duties, and undertook an investigation.

On 17 September 2020 she was convicted of driving “after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in your breath, namely 112 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeded the prescribed limit”, contrary to section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. She was disqualified from driving for 25 months, ordered to pay costs, and made subject to a community order of 100 hours of unpaid, supervised work. She admitted this allegation, telling the TRA in a letter dated 18 September 2023 that she had engaged with support for alcohol use and “was discharged due to my progress”. A letter dated 10 September 2020 recorded that she had attended 16 appointments to date.

The second allegation concerned a Microsoft Teams call on 6 November 2020, convened to discuss the School’s response to Ms Bruce’s positive Covid-19 test result. After she had difficulty joining, Witness B video called her via FaceTime during the meeting. Witness A, who could hear but not see her, said that “it wasn’t like her language was slurred. It was the language she was using and her inability to connect to the computer system.” Witness B, the only participant who could see her, judged that she was under the influence of alcohol, describing her as “becoming emotional and flustered”, “slurring her words” and having an “inability to follow basic instructions”. Witness C said she “appeared drunk” and “she was acting like she was under the influence of alcohol”.

Ms Bruce denied impairment, writing that she had been “extremely poorly with COVID” and had “engaged with the meeting as best as I could given my levels of nausea and high temperature”. The panel acknowledged she was impaired in some way during the call, and that the witnesses held a genuine impression that this may be due to alcohol, but it could not determine on the balance of probabilities whether the impairment was “or otherwise” than alcohol. The evidence was “purely based on perception”, and allegation 1 was not found proved. Ms Bruce thereafter ceased employment with the School.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found the conviction proved and concluded that it was a relevant offence, placing a great deal of weight on the witness statement about children getting out of the car. It stated that driving under the influence of alcohol with children in a vehicle “was a failure in Ms Bruce’s duty of care towards the children, exposed them to risk of harm and failed to promote the safety and welfare of children”. Although it acknowledged her previously good history and some limited insight — she told the TRA she had “made a potentially catastrophic error of judgement which has almost cost me the world” — it found “there was evidence that Ms Bruce’s actions were deliberate” and that she had shown insufficient insight or remorse. The panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect, and the decision maker, Sarah Buxcey, on behalf of the Secretary of State, imposed it on 13 March 2025.

Current Status

Ms Rachel Bruce 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 prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 18 March 2030 — five years from the date of the order — at the earliest. This is not an automatic right: if she applies, a panel will meet to consider whether the order should be set aside, and without a successful application she remains prohibited indefinitely. She also has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of being given notice of the order. The panel’s determination is dated 11 March 2025, with the decision maker’s decision of 13 March 2025.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The prohibition order ends Ms Bruce’s teaching career in England for the foreseeable future. She had already left Riverside Special School after the November 2020 investigation, and the criminal courts had disqualified her from driving for 25 months and ordered 100 hours of unpaid work. The panel accepted there was evidence of her ability as an educator, but concluded that the adverse public interest considerations outweighed any case for retaining her, since her behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher. Any return to the classroom now depends on a successful application after March 2030.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Rachel Bruce” — source