Otara principal deregistered for 'worst kind of misconduct'

Ferguson Intermediate School in Otara where Jenny Leach was the principal. Photo / Google

A long-serving principal has been struck off the teachers' register for what the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal has described as "the worst kind of misconduct".

Jenny Eugenia Brenda Leach, who was principal of Ferguson Intermediate School in Otara for 22 years, admitted forging her own teacher's appraisal in November 2014.

She signed the appraisal in the name of her husband Mike Leach, who was then headmaster of King's College but resigned suddenly in November 2015 after only a year in the job.

Mike Leach resigned suddenly in November 2015 after only a year as headmaster of King's College. File photo

The Disciplinary Tribunal found that Mike Leach "did not carry out an appraisal of the respondent [Jenny Leach] in 2014 and he did not sign the appraisal".

"The respondent completed the appraisal herself and was responsible for the electronic signature placed on the document.

"We interpolate that it struck us as unusual that the respondent's husband was her purported appraiser."

The tribunal found that Jenny Leach's actions were "dishonest and a breach of her obligations under the Education Council's Code of Ethics".

"One of the fundamental principles underpinning the professional interactions of teachers is truth - to be honest with others and self," the tribunal said.

"By providing a false appraisal, the respondent undermined the integrity of the Board of Trustees chairperson's endorsement of her application to renew her practising certificate. Her actions also undermined the integrity of the Education Review Office's audit of the appraisal."

The tribunal's report says Jenny Leach had agreed to a joint memorandum accepting that her actions constituted serious misconduct. It gives no explanation for her actions.

"We agree with the parties that the penalties necessary to mark the gravity of the respondent's serious misconduct are censure, cancellation of her registration, and annotation of the register," it said.

"We consider this to be a clear-cut example of the worst kind of misconduct for which the maximum penalty of cancellation is reserved."