Teacher who sprayed Asian pupils with air freshener for smelling of curry is banned for two years



A teacher who sprayed Asian children smelling of curry with air freshener was banned from the classroom today.

Elizabeth Davies, 50, was struck off the teaching register for a minimum of two years for humiliated children aged between three and six in her primary school class.

She was found guilty today of a string of charges by a General Teaching Council for Wales (GCTW) panel sitting in Cardiff.

Angry: Mother Karen Andrew claims her son Cory, although not Asian, was sprayed with air freshener for smelling. She wants teacher Elizabeth Davies struck off

In a stinging rebuke, panel chairman Peter Williams said: ‘It is our view that Mrs Davies's behaviour strikes at the heart of what it is to be a teacher.’

He went on to describe it as a ‘complete disregard for the children's dignity which should be preserved at all times’.

He said it included an ‘insensitivity to the (children's) needs, in particular in relation to their intimate care’.

The panel heard how she would warn youngsters ‘there is a waft coming in from paradise’ moments before targeting them with air freshener.

Mrs Davies, a nursery school teacher for 21 years, also directed class assistants who worked with her to do the same.

She was found guilty of leaving wet or soiled children unchanged and also prevented other support staff changing them.

Children were made to stand on newspaper in their soiled or wet condition until collected by their parents.

The GCTW panel ruled that guilt in all five offences together amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

A claim that she would mutter ‘black b******s’ as she sprayed children was not proven.

The veteran nursery school teacher was working at Hafod Primary School in Swansea at the time.

More than half the pupils at the inner-city school, where she earned £34,000 a year, are of Bangladeshi origin.

Hafod Primary School, Swansea, where Davies taught pupils aged three to six

She was sacked from her job at the school in April 2009 over ‘child protection concerns’ having previously been suspended for 18 months.

A police investigation triggered by a series of complaints against her concluded without charges being brought.

The Cardiff hearing was told that Mrs Davies would use the air freshener in the morning after accusing Bangladeshi children of smelling of ‘onions or curry’.

She would then target a short, sharp squirt at an offending child's bottom.

She also instructed classroom assistants to prepare bowls of disinfectant so children could wash their hands before having snacks.

The hearing was told by one teaching assistant that she believed that Mrs Davies discriminated against children based on race.

Mrs Davies did not attend the two-day hearing but had contested the charges against her.

Peggy George, a retired union rep who defended her, said that she admitted using both air freshener and disinfectant, but not in the way described.

She went on to highlight Mrs Davies's previous good record and underline a series of glowing references from people in the teaching profession.

Hafod curate reverend Susan Knight also described her as a teacher that ‘everyone wanted to work with’.

The prohibition order served on the teacher today will operate for a minimum of two years before she is eligible for readmission to the teaching register.

In practice teachers almost never make such an application.

But the decision to only ban Mrs Davies for two years has been criticised by parents.

Karen Andrew, who claimed her seven-year-old son Cory, though he is not Bangladeshi, was sprayed for 'smelling', said she was 'very disappointed'.

'He knew what happened, he doesn't understand it properly but he can remember what she did and being upset by it,' Mrs Andrew told the Metro.

