THREE classroom assistants tried to ruin the career of a highly respected teacher by making false accusations, including a claim she treated a pupil with special needs like a dog.

A disciplinary panel cleared Lesley Cooper, a primary teacher from the Highlands, of all allegations after hearing her lessons were a joy to watch.

READ MORE: Inside Track: How do you know if your child's teacher is botching the job?

But the General Teaching Council for Scotland panel criticised her accusers, saying they mounted a sustained campaign of harassment and vilification. It also emerged that Ms Cooper and the head teacher were spoken to by police as a result of the bogus claims.

Ms Cooper, who teaches pupils with special needs at St Duthus School in Tain, was summoned before a GTCS hearing, which was held in private.

A report on the case revealed that three teaching assistants alleged that the teacher pulled at a boy, grabbed him, shook him, and referred to him as a puppy.

The GTCS dismissed all the charges, condemning the assistants for colluding to fabricate a false complaint and appearing as witnesses in a bid to damage her character and reputation. The three teaching assistants — Vivienne Fraser, Fiona Smith and Kirsty Bonthrone — gave evidence.

In her statement Ms Fraser said she saw Ms Cooper treat the pupil like a rag doll.

Mrs Smith said that Ms Cooper would drag the same pupil by the hand and grab him by the collar, behaving in a violent and angry way on a daily basis.

She also described allegations of Ms Cooper referring to the pupil as her puppy and said he was terrified of her. Ms Bonthrone said that Ms Cooper would yank the pupil by the hand.

READ MORE: Inside Track: How do you know if your child's teacher is botching the job?

Ms Cooper said she believed the actions of the assistants were sparked when the head teacher proposed to extend the school day.

Both she and the head teacher supported the proposed longer day, and the assistants did not, leading them to target her, she said.

The GTCS panel found that the trio’s allegations were unsubstantiated and contradicted by the credible accounts given by other teachers at the school.

In their findings, they wrote: “The panel rejected the evidence of Ms Bonthrone, Mrs Fraser and Mrs Smith as inherently lacking credibility. Ms Bonthrone was ... determined to make negative and denigrating comments about the respondent outwith the scope of the complaint.”

Discussing Ms Fraser, the panel wrote: “Throughout her evidence, she appeared to be focused on making disparaging comments about the respondent which had no bearing on the questions put to her.

“She referred to the teachers at the school on more than one occasion as ‘these people’ which seemed to evidence a lack of respect bordering on contempt.”

The panel described Mrs Smith as evasive in her answers.

Concluding, the panel wrote: “It seemed clear to the panel that the three PSAs (pupil support assistants) came to the hearing with the intent to further damage the character and reputation of the respondent rather than to give genuine and objective evidence.

“The panel found that the three PSAs had colluded in fabricating a false complaint against the respondent.

READ MORE: Inside Track: How do you know if your child's teacher is botching the job?

“The panel found that the evidence showed that a group of PSAs mounted a sustained campaign of harassment and vilification against the teaching staff at the school to the extent that it caused the suspension of the head teacher and the respondent by Highland Council.”

Highland Council refused to comment on whether the assistants will face disciplinary proceedings and refused to disclose whether Ms Cooper is still an employee.