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Teacher sacked for racist slurs and altering student work
17 Apr
Summary
- Teacher Jennifer Howie was fired for using racist language and altering student work.
- Howie aggressively confronted colleagues over changes to student BTEC assignments.
- She has been banned from teaching for at least five years after a misconduct hearing.
Jennifer Howie, formerly the deputy director of business and ICT at Kingsthorpe College in Northampton, has been permanently removed from the teaching profession. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) imposed a ban of at least five years following a misconduct hearing.
Howie faced allegations of making significant, unauthorized changes to students' BTEC work. Concerns were first raised in May 2021 when students discovered alterations and deletions to their assignments. Howie's initial explanations were disputed, and she later claimed the edits were for model answers, not for grading purposes.
The TRA stated her actions risked false grades and undermined the examination system. During a disciplinary hearing in March 2023, Howie displayed aggressive, threatening, and disruptive behavior, leading to a partial lockdown of the school for safety reasons.
Following the hearing, Howie reportedly used racist and discriminatory language about a group of students from Pakistan. While Howie claimed limited memory due to distress, the panel found multiple instances of misconduct, dishonesty, and a lack of insight or remorse, deeming her a repetition risk.
