School teacher banned after drinking can of beer in classroom and eating mints after every sip

Steven Ward, who taught at Southwark Primary School in Nottingham, consumed alcohol in the classroom on more than one occasion and had been under the influence of alcohol during school hours in November 2023, a professional conduct panel has found.

Mr Ward, who began teaching at the school in September 2014, denied all allegations against him and claimed to be the victim of a “witch-hunt”.

The report said: “Mr Ward is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.”

Two witnesses, who were not named in the report, said they had seen Mr Ward drinking from a blue can that looked like Brewdog’s Punk IPA.

The witnesses also alleged that Mr Ward had attempted to hide the drink in his bag and consumed a mint after each sip.

One of the witnesses stated Mr Ward would drink from the can around every five minutes on average.

Another witness said he had seen Mr Ward drinking from a can from his bag around every 15 minutes. According to the report, he said “he had found this to be unusual behaviour as he would have expected teachers to drink from a coffee cup or bottle of water.”

The witnesses also said he would have a mint from what looked like a tin of Smints, which he took from his pocket after each swig of his drink.

On a separate day, another witness reported a “strong smell of alcohol” upon entering a room that Mr Ward was in, saying “it was a strong enough smell to notice it instantly when walking into a large two-person office.”

In response to the allegations, Mr Ward said there was “a very realistic possibility” that he had put a can onto his desk, but denied it could have been alcohol, saying it was “not something that [he] would ever do”.

Mr Ward said that a “witch-hunt” had been conducted against him, but the panel said it was presented with no evidence to support this view.

The panel also found that Mr Ward’s “lack of insight” during the hearing, in which he did not appear aware of how his behaviour was unprofessional, meant there was a risk of further misconduct.

“Whilst the panel noted that Mr Ward had acknowledged that he had lied to professionals, he had not demonstrated remorse for his previous misconduct or demonstrated understanding of the impact of his behaviour on others,” the panel said.

Mr Ward can apply for the prohibition order to be set aside on 22 January 2029, three years from the date of this order at the earliest.