A PE teacher who “let down” pupils for five years by failing to monitor or mark their work has been banned from teaching for two years.
Kevin John Prewett, 56, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct at a General Teaching Council for Wales hearing last week.
The former head of PE at Michaelston Community College in Cardiff failed to monitor GCSE coursework or mark theory work, the disciplinary panel heard.
Peter Williams, its chair, said Mr Prewett’s failings went “to the heart of what it means to be a registered teacher”.
The 650-pupil Michaelston College was set up in 2002 to replace Glan Ely High, dubbed the “worst school in Wales” after failing two Estyn inspections.
Mr Prewett, who had taught at Glan Ely since 1974, became head of PE at Michaelston, but there were concerns early on about his performance and he was absent for long periods on sick leave.
In April 2007, he received a written warning after giving a PE lesson to a Year 8 class who were meant to be studying ICT. The pupils had no kit and ran around the sports hall wearing socks. At one point, a boy slipped and broke his arm.
Mr Prewett was given a final written warning in October 2007 after he failed to deliver a post-16 Btec sports unit, causing three students to fail. Later, Mary Campbell, Michaelston’s principal, monitored a sample of his GCSE students’ theory books and found little or no evidence of marking and no evidence of homework.
Mr Prewett went on long-term sick leave before an investigatory hearing, but submitted evidence that everything during the previous three years was “a blur”.
He said he was “having hell” with a number of students, but Ms Campbell said this was not the case as they were the brightest boys in the group. She said she felt she had a responsibility to make sure he did not move to another school.
In April last year, Mr Prewett was dismissed for gross misconduct.
Ms Campbell told the hearing the pupils had received a “deprived experience” of PE for five years.
Mr Prewett did not attend the hearing and was not represented.
