Teacher banned after showing up to school too drunk to walk straight and smelling of alcohol
24 March 2025, 11:19 | Updated: 24 March 2025, 11:27
A teacher has been banned from the profession after arriving at school too drunk to walk straight and smelling strongly of alcohol.
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Ashley Atkin, 38, was "staggering" as she attempted to present a pupil with a prize at her school in Cheshire.
She had drunk over a bottle of wine that morning in October 2023, before coming to work as a Year One teacher at Horn's Mill Primary in Helsby.
She had only joined the school a month earlier, and had to be sent home that morning for safeguarding reasons.
Her fellow teachers were shocked to see her fail to lead her children to the right area of the assembly room, instead sitting apart from them.
She was also unable to present a child with their award, instead asking a colleague to do it for her.
Read more: Teacher sacked after joke about 'whacking' pupil over the head not understood
The Teaching Regulation Agency was alerted and launched an investigation. They found that she had been drunk on school property.
It came just a few months after Ms Atkin was banned from driving after being caught over the limit twice.
A colleague told the investigation: "When [Ms Atkin] stood to take to children in [to the assembly] she seemed to have trouble with her dress round her feet and was unsteady.
"She moved slowly and gingerly."
Atkin was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.
She was banned indefinitely from teaching in England and Wales.
Panel chairperson Melissa West said: "Ms Atkin was teaching on 20 October 2023; she went to work, on her evidence, having drunk a bottle and a glass of wine during the early hours of the morning.
"She was seen to be staggering in the school, her eyes were glazed, and she appeared drunk.
"Ms Atkin was unprepared to start the school day and unable to lead her class in the assembly to be seated. She was deemed by a witness not to be in a fit state to work and was escorted home."
Mrs West added: "The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Ms Atkin fell significantly short of the standard of behaviour expected of a teacher in that she presented at work after consuming alcohol and smelling of alcohol and for safeguarding reasons could not be left in charge of her class for the day."
Signing off on the judgement for the government, Marc Cavey, the chief executive of the teaching regulation agency, said: "In my judgement, the lack of evidence that Ms Atkin has developed full insight into and remorse for her actions means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this jeopardises the future wellbeing of pupils."
Ms Atkin did not come to the hearing but said in a statement: "I'm absolutely devastated about what happened and it's all I can think about.
"I was going through such a difficult time at that point. Since then I am in a much better place."
