Female primary school teacher is sacked over affair with pupil’s father and string of ‘inappropriate’ relationships with other parents
- Ann Brenen was sacked from Westoe Crown Primary School amid staff concerns
- Colleagues were worried about her ‘inappropriate’ relationships with parents
- The South Shields teacher saw an appeal and an unfair dismissal case both fail
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A primary school teacher has been sacked from her position over an affair with a pupil’s father and a string of ‘inappropriate’ relationships with other parents.
Colleagues raised concerns over Ann Brenen’s ‘inappropriate’ relationships with several parents at Westoe Crown Primary School in South Shields between 2016 and 2017.
An employment tribunal heard how she formed a sexual relationship with the father of one child, referred to as Pupil F, after meeting him at a parents evening.
Ann Brenen was sacked from Westoe Crown Primary School in South Shields in 2018 amid fears she was not properly safeguarding children
She was sacked for gross misconduct in 2018 amid concerns from parents and teachers that she was not properly safeguarding children.
After separating from her husband, Mrs Brenen, who started working at Westoe Crown in 2004, began asking the same pupil into her classroom to do jobs.
As rumours started to fly, a teaching assistant claimed she saw Mrs Brenen’s car outside the father’s house.
A committee heard Mrs Brenen lied to the school’s headteacher when asked about it, claiming they were only friends.
Employment tribunal papers reveal she became friends with another dad at the school, but later reported him to police for allegedly harassing her.
Despite making the report, she allowed the father to attend a school trip to help out.
Westoe Crown Primary School in South Shields sacked Ann Brenen amid fears of ‘inappropriate’ relationships with several parents
A mother at the school went on to complain that Mrs Brenner was sharing information about her child with their father, whom were they were not in contact with.
Following disciplinary proceedings in 2018, Mrs Brenen, who was considered one of the school’s ‘Leaders of Learning,’ launched an appeal to win back her job, but it failed.
She then filed a claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination on the grounds she was depressed. The case was dismissed.
Employment tribunal papers read: ‘A number of the staff indicated but they had concerns about the claimant’s unusual behaviour.
Ann Brenen lied to the headteacher at Westoe Crown Primary about sexual relations she had been having with the father of a pupil
‘They all said that the claimant did not say anything to them about any about her depression all medication.
‘They are all attributed how unusual behaviour to the problems in her marriage breakdown. A number of staff brought to their concerns to the attention of the headmaster.’
The tribunal also heard how she asked other teachers to mark homework for her.
Mrs Brenen, a mother-of-three, claimed this was common among teachers.
A panel ruled she was guilty of a ‘serious breach of the standards expected’ of a senior teacher.
The tribunal judgment stated: ‘In her evidence to the tribunal, [Mrs Brenen] said she started a sexual relationship with the father of pupil F, a child at her school.
‘The claimant did not disclose that relationship to the head teacher. She said she did not do so because it only lasted a short time.
‘The claimant’s inability to recognise safeguarding issues was clearly a serious matter for the respondent. Her actions amounted to gross misconduct.’