Pamela Arnasalam was also found guilty of assault and has been banned from the classroom
Kings Leadership Academy in Dingle Vale, Liverpool(Image: Andy Teebay)
A former teacher at a Liverpool school who was twice convicted for driving while three times over the limit, as well as an assault offence, has been banned from the classroom for good. Pamela Arnasalam will never be allowed to teach again after education officials said she was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.
Arnasalam, 57, taught at Kings Leadership Academy in Dingle for almost 20 years. She has now been prohibited from teaching following a Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) hearing last month which was told of her three convictions in three years.
Two of those came while she was employed at the Dingle school, which was known as Shorefields School before it obtained academy status in 2012. She will not be allowed to reapply to teach.
Arnasalam began her employment at Kings Leadership Academy in June 2002, where she progressed to the position of head of modern foreign languages. In November 2019 she was convicted of being in charge of a motor vehicle with alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit seven months earlier.
She was also found guilty of an offence of common assault (battery) on the same date. The former teacher was given a conditional discharge for the latter crime.
The TRA panel noted that members of the public had reported the incident that led to her arrest, and that it took place in a public place. Two referrals were made to the designated officer at Liverpool Council in 2020 and 2021.
When she was stopped behind the wheel in April 2019, a memorandum of conviction stated Arnasalam recorded 134 micrograms (mg) of alcohol in 100 milliliters of breath – the legal limit is 35mg. On the same day, the ex-teacher also committed an offence of common assault (battery) for which she was sentenced to a 12 month conditional discharge.
The panel was provided with a police report of the incident and also CCTV footage which showed Arnasalam’s interaction with the police following the incident, which further substantiated the allegations. In October 2020, it was said Armasalam failed to report her absence to the school when required to do so.
Arnasalam resigned from the school in February 2022. Weeks later, she found herself punished for a second driving offence.
The former languages head was stopped while driving and found to have 132 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milliliters of her breath. This resulted in a 12-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months.
While this was outside of her employment at the school, the TRA panel was satisfied that it had seen evidence that she was still within the effective notice period of her employment following her resignation at the time of the offence. Following the conclusion of the school’s investigation, Kings Leadership Academy made a referral in respect of Arnasalam to the TRA in May 2022.
In a report made public by the TRA, it was said Arnasalam’s actions were relevant to teaching, working with children and working in an education setting. It added: “Notably, she had been convicted of two separate offences where she was responsible for a car whilst significantly over the prescribed limit for alcohol.”
The panel took into consideration some evidence indicating Arnasalam had been experiencing difficult personal circumstances at the time of the incidents. It however determined that while this may provide limited mitigation, the information provided did not undermine the seriousness of either conviction.
Arnasalam did have a prior good history, having not been subject to any regulatory or disciplinary findings previously and had an unblemished career prior to these incidents. However, there was no evidence her actions were not deliberate or she was acting under extreme duress.
The panel noted the two convictions for drink driving displayed a repeat in her behaviour, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it therefore determined that such behaviour may be likely to continue. The element of violence in the 2019 conviction was also considered a significant factor in the decision to ban.
As a result, Arnasalam is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against her, officials said they would not allow her to reapply to teach again.
The ECHO contacted Great School Trust, which operates Kings Leadership Academy, for comment.