During irate outbursts, a TEACHER bragged about her sex life in front of students and cursed in their presence. Julia Wheeler, a 40-year-old English instructor, cursed at students and informed them about her “friends with benefits” relationships.
Ms Wheeler was informed at a fitness to practise meeting that she wrote ‘b***h’ next to one of her students’ names on a mark sheet and even drew a circle around it. Assistant principal Catherine Tobin stated that the issues were expressed at the secondary school when ten students made statements against her. Ms Wheeler allegedly dubbed the students “d**kheads,” “b******s,” and “f*****g b******s” at Pencoed Comprehensive School in Bridgend, South Wales. She was also accused of “shouting in their faces” at school and “pushing chairs onto the floor” in the classroom. “She once shouted at me so much that I cried,” one student said of Ms Wheeler.
Ms Wheeler began instructing at the school in September 2020, according to the Education Workforce Council panel, but grievances were filed only eight months later. Ms Tobin stated that students claimed Ms Wheeler informed them of an intimate connection that she characterised as “friends with benefits.” During the period between January and May 2021, she was also accused of referring to another member of staff as a “d***head.”
According to the Education Workforce Council panel, Ms Wheeler started teaching at the school in September 2020, but complaints were submitted only eight months later. Ms Tobin stated that pupils claimed Ms Wheeler told them about a close relationship that she described as “friends with benefits.” She was also accused of referring to another member of staff as a “d***head” between January and May 2021.
Ms Tobin said: “In no way would I anticipate anybody to refer to a learner by that term. It was wholly inappropriate.”
Ms Wheeler told the committee that the mark sheet was “never intended” to go beyond her and the colleague who provided it to her. She was informed that a disciplinary hearing would be held in July 2021, but an arrangement was reached to terminate her job in February the following year. Ms Wheeler’s behaviour had a detrimental impact on students, according to presenting officer Sara Lewis, and there had been “no expression of genuine regret.” Ms Wheeler refuted all claims of improper or derogatory behaviour towards students as unethical professional conduct. Ms Wheeler believed the accusations were a “witch hunt” to “get her out,” according to panel head Steve Powell.
