A SCOTTISH teacher who won her appeal after being struck off for incompetence is to face fresh disciplinary action from the profession's regulatory body.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) said it intended to renew proceedings against Clackmannanshire maths teacher Janet Garner as part of its "duty to maintain high standards in the profession".
The move comes just weeks after Mrs Garner won her appeal at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. She convinced the court there were serious flaws in the way she had been treated by the GTCS and three appeal judges quashed a decision to remove her from the teaching register.
Although incompetence in Scottish schools is not seen as a significant problem, there have been long-standing concerns that removing poor teachers from the classroom is problematic.
Figures obtained by The Herald in 2010 revealed just two of Scotland's 52,000 teachers had been sacked for incompetence in the previous three years.
Yesterday, a spokesman for the GTCS said: "Our executive committee has decided that GTCS will renew proceedings against Janet Garner. This decision was ratified by a meeting of the full council of GTCS.
"The decision to pursue this case has not been taken lightly. GTCS is the independent self-regulating body for teaching and, as such, has a duty to maintain high standards in the profession."
Mrs Garner, an honours graduate in pure mathematics and statistics from St Andrews University, obtained a teaching qualification in 1998 at Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh. She began working for Clackmannanshire Council as a maths teacher in 2003, first at Alva Academy and later at Alloa Academy.
The council sacked her in 2007 because of concerns about her competency, and the case was referred to the GTCS. It held Mrs Garner had failed to meet the standards of competence and performance required of a teacher and she was struck off, becoming the fifth teacher to be banned on such a ground. In its summary GTCS officials said she "simply could not teach".
Mrs Garner appealed against the decision and cited 113 examples of what she contended had been errors of law by the GTCS's disciplinary sub-committee.
Lord Osborne, sitting with Lords Eassie and Emslie at the Court of Session, said one of her main complaints was a failure by the committee to take into account substantial evidence about the attainment of pupils taught by her.
The committee had spoken of "poor attainment in her classes", but Lord Osborne said: "Mrs Garner presented a large amount of statistical evidence related to class and individual results.
"There is no indication the committee gave any consideration to that material beyond reference to its existence - the decision appears to us to lack the reasoning which would be essential to a fair and rational decision."
On the level of complaints, Lord Osborne said there was evidence to show some were misconceived, some were misdirected against Mrs Garner and others were "quite simply without validity".
However, the GTCS contended all the evidence presented to them had been considered, stating: "We are confident that Mrs Garner received a fair hearing.
"Nonetheless, we accept and respect the view of the court that the reasons for the decision were not sufficiently detailed in some areas. This is something we will address for future cases."
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