Preschool teacher Kaaren Stewart has been ordered to pay $20,121 and had her registration cancelled after the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found her guilty of serious misconduct. Photo / 123rf
A preschooler was pulled by the wrist and into a bathroom by an early childhood teacher who then dragged the crying child back to their classroom.
The child experienced trauma at the hands of Kaaren Stewart, who denied what amounted to serious misconduct.
Stewart has now had her registration cancelled after her actions in February 2020 were found to be unnecessary and rough.
She was employed at the Alphabet Academy Cloverlea Centre in Palmerston North at the time of the incident.
Evidence proved the 4-year-old child suffered on at least one occasion at the hands of Stewart, which the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found had an adverse impact on the boy.
According to an October decision made public this week, the tribunal heard allegations from the Complaints Assessment Committee that Stewart had grabbed the boy’s wrist and pulled his arm until he sat down during mat time.
He later stood up during a transition to lunch and Stewart allegedly grabbed his wrist again and pulled his arm until he sat down.
The boy had refused to wash his hands in the bathroom, and she was later seen by another teacher grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the bathroom.
Another teacher who was in the bathroom saw the child run in screaming, followed by Stewart.
Stewart then dragged the screaming child several metres to a lunch table in the centre while yelling at him.
The child, upset and distressed, complained to another teacher, saying, “Kaaren hurt me”.
The teacher filled out an incident report on the day, referring to both the mat time and bathroom incidents.
The child’s mother contacted the centre later that day after noticing a red mark on his wrist and asked what had happened with Stewart.
Stewart denied the allegations, saying the child had moved independently.
She was upset by her colleagues’ claims, feeling there was a generational disconnect and that no one had approached her directly with concerns, according to the decision.
Stewart argued that her evidence should be preferred due to inconsistencies in the witnesses’ accounts and a lack of proper complaint procedures at the centre.
She submitted that she had significant health issues, which limited her physical ability to grab or drag a child.
Stewart said she had gone behind the boy on the mat and used her forearms in a “forklift” manoeuvre to “gently nudge him to sit down”.
When he did not want to, she left him be and turned her attention to other children, she told the tribunal.
She denied any forceful or inappropriate handling at mat time.
Stewart said that when the child refused to wash his hands for lunch, she did not pull or drag him to the bathroom.
Instead, she encouraged him to go, and he went of his own accord.
She followed him into the bathroom, she said, but there was a short delay as the child was faster than her due to her physical limitations.
Stewart said she helped the child wash his hands and denied yelling at him or dragging him into the bathroom.
She agreed he was upset at that point and said that she walked next to him with her hand on his arm, but when he dropped to the ground, she did not drag him.
She emphasised her physical difficulties and suggested that she could not have done as alleged.
Stewart said the explanation for the child’s sore arm was that he had been banging his arm on the table.
She also suggested that negative perceptions of her by some colleagues may have coloured their evidence against her.
Three staff members had corroborated evidence about Stewart’s conduct.
The allegation that evidence was fabricated or that they had colluded against Stewart was refuted.
The tribunal found Stewart’s conduct had a demonstrable and adverse impact on the child.
“In summary, we find that after [the child] refused to wash his hands, Ms Stewart grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the bathroom,” the tribunal’s findings stated.
“Following further resistance, Ms Stewart again grabbed [the child] and dragged him from the bathroom to the table area while he was crying.
“Ms Stewart’s actions were impulsive and suggested a lack of emotional regulation. Her actions were unnecessary and rough.”
Evidence from teaching staff and the child’s mother showed he had experienced trauma as a result of the incident.
“This trauma manifested in both emotional and physical consequences.”
The tribunal found the conduct not only had the potential to adversely affect the child’s wellbeing but “did in fact do so”.
“The actions of Ms Stewart reflect adversely on her fitness to teach. They demonstrate a lack of professional judgment, a disregard for the child’s dignity and safety, and a failure to uphold the trust placed in teachers by learners, their families and the wider community.”
The tribunal cancelled Stewart’s teacher registration and ordered her to pay $20,121 in costs.
Alphabet Academy Cloverlea Centre did return NZME’s calls for comment.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.