A POPULAR Penglais School art teacher will return to work after he won an appeal against his sacking, but will be demoted from head of art to a classroom teacher.
Richard Edwards was dismissed in July after a disciplinary hearing found him guilty of gross misconduct.
That decision sparked a huge backlash amongst pupils and supporters who launched a petition demanding his reinstatement which attracted over 1,400 signatures in just a couple of days.
A protest was held outside Ceredigion County Council’s office in Aberystwyth where Mr Edwards’ appeal was heard.
The council confirmed the appeal panel had not upheld the initial decision and instead imposed a final written warning and a demotion.
A spokesperson said: “The council supports and advises the governing body of Penglais School to ensure the correct implementation of policies and procedures in dealing with staff disciplinary issues.
“The council can confirm that a disciplinary appeal hearing was held on Tuesday, 13 September, to consider five allegations of misconduct against Mr Richard Edwards.
“The appeal panel decided not to uphold the original decision to dismiss and amended the sanction that was applied to a final written warning and a demotion from head of department to classroom teacher. Arrangements are now being made for Mr Edwards to return to his post.”
Comments
This article has no comments yet. Be the first to leave a comment.