A former primary school headteacher has been banned from teaching at all schools after she snuck a bottle of vodka in her purse so she could drink it during a lunch break.
Jane Woolfenden, 55, admitted sneaking a bottle of vodka into her handbag from her car boot and bringing it inside Lyndhurst Community Primary School in Greater Manchester.
She said she drank it with orange juice during a lunch break at the Dukinfield school after a colleague spotted the alcohol when she accidentally knocked over her bag, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Mrs Woolfenden - who was said to be highly respected among her peers - has now been banned from teaching at all schools, sixth form colleges, youth accommodation and children's homes in England.
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A Teaching Regulation Agency panel which met on April 29 heard that Mrs Woolfenden was seen taking her handbag to her car at lunchtime on July 10, 2018, and returned to school with the vodka in her bag.
A whistleblower, who remained anonymous, said they accidentally knocked over Mrs Woolfenden's handbag and noticed what "looked like a vodka bottle".
Two witnesses told the panel that the following day, Mrs Woolfenden admitted that she had brought vodka into school and had drank some.
During a disciplinary interview alongside her trade union representative on July 20, Mrs Woolfenden said she had bought the vodka on the way home from work on July 9.
She said she kept the vodka in her handbag and moved it to her car boot on the morning of July 10 while attending a conference, before putting it back in her bag at lunchtime and drinking it with orange juice.
The panel ruled that by bringing vodka into the school and drinking it, Mrs Woolfenden had "failed to maintain high standards of behaviour".
A report published following the hearing said: "The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mrs Woolfenden amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.
"The panel considered that, as a teacher and headteacher of the school, Mrs Woolfenden had a responsibility to safeguard the pupils at the school and her actions and decisions could be impacted by her consumption of alcohol.
"The allegations as proven had the potential to tarnish both Mrs Woolfenden’s reputation and the school’s reputation."
An anonymous whistleblower also claimed Mrs Woolfenden had tipped "a glass of fizzy orange juice down the sink in the toilets" on July 11, 2018.
No alcohol was found on the premises that day and Mrs Woolfenden denied the allegation, so the July 11 allegations were not proven.
The panel found that Mrs Woolfenden "did have a previously good history" and was handed a number of testimonials in support of her.
They included accounts from two headteachers, with one describing her "honesty, humanity, humility and strength of moral purpose for the school and the community she serves".
Sarah Buxcey, who made the decision to ban Mrs Woolfenden from teaching on behalf of the Secretary of State, said a lack of "insight or remorse" which the panel felt from the former headteacher meant there was "some risk of the repetition of this behaviour".
She added: "In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession."
Mrs Woolfenden can apply for the ban to be reviewed from May 12, 2024.
Lyndhurst Community Primary School declined to comment.
