A TEACHING assistant has been suspended from the profession for 12 months after a disciplinary panel concluded she used excessive force on a young pupil by pulling him into a classroom.
The incident took place at Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargod in Caerphilly County on May 20, 2022.
According to findings presented to the Education Workforce Council (EWC), Cerian Williams approached the child quickly after he hesitated outside a classroom door and then grabbed him by the arm before dragging him inside.
The boy had reportedly been reluctant to enter the room after it was opened by a member of staff he did not recognise.
His mother, who witnessed the incident, challenged Williams at the time and told the hearing she saw the teaching assistant seize the boy’s arm and pull him into the classroom.
She told the panel: “She came towards him, grabbed him by his right arm and dragged him into the classroom. She was stomping across the room. It seemed like she was annoyed that he was still standing by the door and hadn’t gone inside.”
After the incident, Williams was said to have patted the boy on the head and reassured him he was fine.
Williams later told the school’s headteacher, Jamie Hallett, that she had used a recognised behavioural support technique known as the “Caring C”, part of the Team Teach training programme used in schools to guide children safely.
However, the disciplinary panel heard that the technique involves positioning an adult next to or slightly behind a child, placing a hand above the elbow to guide them. Witnesses at the hearing said Williams had been standing in front of the pupil when she pulled him.
Evidence from the class teacher, Rhian Darch, also suggested Williams had appeared more irritable than usual in the weeks leading up to the incident. Ms Darch told the hearing she had attempted to offer informal support, though no formal concerns had been raised at the time.
In its ruling, the EWC fitness to practise committee found the allegations against Williams proven. The panel concluded that she had grabbed, pulled and dragged the pupil by the arm or wrist, and that the force used was unnecessary.
Committee chair Gareth Davies said the panel found Williams’ explanation inconsistent with the accounts given by witnesses.
He said: “The committee noted that her accounts did not appear to be consistent and were in direct conflict with the witnesses called by the EWC. There was no evidence to suggest they had any reason to fabricate their evidence.”
Williams had been suspended from work on full pay following the incident and later faced a criminal charge of common assault by beating. She was found not guilty at Newport Magistrates’ Court in April 2023.
She resigned from her post in July 2024 following the school’s own disciplinary investigation.
Announcing the decision on Thursday (Mar 12), the committee imposed a 12-month suspension order, preventing Williams from working in the profession during that time.
Mr Davies said the panel accepted the incident appeared to be a one-off and that Williams’ behaviour was out of character, but concluded it still amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
Williams did not attend the hearing and was not represented.
