A maths teacher who served a 12-month rehabilitation community order for possessing class A drugs has successfully appealed against the penalty imposed on her by England’s General Teaching Council.
Ann-Marie Carlin, who taught at Margaret Glen-Bott school in Nottingham, was caught with pound;120 of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and cannabis, in June 2004.
During her GTC hearing in March, the committee was told that Ms Carlin had also been arrested and cautioned for shoplifting and possessing cannabis in the same year.
She was given a rehabilitation order by Derby crown court in January 2005 after admitting the offences.
At the March hearing, Ms Carlin was told by the GTC that she must undergo drug tests every month for a year and every two months for the following two years.
But Ms Carlin, a single mother of two, told a committee sitting in Birmingham this week that she could not afford the monthly drug tests due to the cost of bringing up her children.
She said: “I’m unemployed with two young children so I’m living on limited means,” she said.
“I’m happy to be tested, I want to comply but I want it to be sensible.”
The new order means that for three years from March she will have to take a drugs test if requested by the GTC, a local education authority or any employer in education.
She must also supply the GTC with a report from her doctor to say that she is free from drugs.
Andrew Faux, presenting officer, said that Ms Carlin had got her life in a total mess after she was discovered with the drugs but that she had now taken steps to lead a drug-free life.
The committee heard how Gareth Owen, the former headteacher at Margaret Glen-Bott school, had said Ms Carlin was a “vibrant and well-organised teacher”.
