A female teacher who was fired after allowing students as young as 15 to pose topless and mimic masturbation for a school project has justified her actions as “art” and said she was the victim of a “deep injustice.”
Emma Wright, 41, has been barred from teaching indefinitely after allowing students at Northamptonshire’s Huxlow Science College to take half nude images of themselves and others for a ‘very improper’ school art project.
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) determined that the class, which included students who were smoking and drinking, had infringed safeguarding standards, and Mrs Wright was dismissed.
She, on the other hand, protested to government authorities today and declared that she would never return to teaching.
‘I believe there is a grave injustice here, but I will not appeal since I no longer intend to teach,’ she told The Sun. This is something I’ve written to my MP, the union, and the Education Minister about.
‘I am a decent person.’ I’m not the person they portray me to be. It is something about which I am quite passionate. It has caused me a great deal of distress. It’s a situation I never saw myself in.
‘Those pupils were fantastic. ‘I have no animosity against those students in the least.’
Mrs Wright was reported to the TRA in 2018 when the school’s head of art and design discovered a portfolio of youngsters’ work.
She, on the other hand, charged the watchdog of having “no knowledge of art or education.”
‘I’m hoping the local community is as astonished, upset, and furious as I am,’ the instructor added. They are aware of my existence. I’ve been teaching there for a long time.
‘So I’m looking for a fair representation since it’s extremely upsetting.’
Mrs Wright, a seasoned educator with an excellent reputation, told the panel that she exposed the students to a new artist who created’suggestive paintings.’
She stressed, however, that telling the children this did not imply that they should make comparable art.
She stated that she did not believe the artist’s work was sexual in nature, but that in retrospect, she should have notified the students that their images were inappropriate.
‘Mrs Wright advised the panel that she had told the students that she did not want them to be nude, but that they should use their arm, face, or whatever,’ according to the report. Mrs Wright mentioned during her testimony that art is a process.
‘On balance, the panel found that Mrs Wright would have seen the images taken by the students prior to the creation of the final artwork.’
Mrs Wright had broken professional teaching standards and failed to protect the well-being of her students, according to decision-maker Alan Meyrick.
‘While the panel was satisfied that the danger of repeat was minimal, it did not find that Mrs Wright had adequately considered the safeguarding implications of permitting students to take images of themselves or others in nude,’ he added.
‘A crucial component in establishing that perspective was the possibility of damage owing to a lack of safeguarding pupils.’
‘In order to maintain public faith in the profession, I believe a restriction order is required.’
Mrs Wright was also told by the panel that she was told by the school not to talk about her suspension, but she afterwards told a colleague to whom she had previously confided.
‘The panel was concerned that Mrs Wright had discussed the suspension with two persons on different occasions, and that this may jeopardize the confidentially of the school’s inquiry, as well as the school’s image,’ according to the report.
Mrs Wright has been barred from teaching in England forever and will not be able to seek for a review until 2024.
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