Lanarkshire teacher who hit a woman and poured cleaning fluids over her allowed to keep working

Charles Tighe admitted assaulting three separate women - including striking a victim on the head as she held a child and emptying a bucket of cleaning fluids over her.

Charles Tighe admitted assaulting three separate women.

A primary school teacher who hit a woman with a belt and poured cleaning fluids over her has avoided being struck off.

Charles Tighe, who taught at Beckford Primary School in Hamilton, admitted assaulting three separate women.

He attacked one, pushed her against a wall, threw her to the floor, and emptied a linen basket over her.

Tighe also struck her head as she held a child, threw her on a bed and emptied a bucket of cleaning materials and fluids over her.

He also struck her with a belt and repeatedly slapped and shook her.

Tighe targeted another female, repeatedly shook her, and pinned her to the floor.

He also repeatedly sent text messages to another woman, which caused her "fear and alarm" a year after assaulting her and forcibly removing a child from her arms.

His campaign of violence stretched between 2007 and 2018 before he was prosecuted in 2019, handed unpaid work, and was put under supervision for eighteen months at Lanark Sheriff Court.

Tighe was hauled before a panel of the General Teaching Council for Scotland, where he admitted his criminal convictions but insisted he was fit to teach.

After hearing evidence, the General Teaching Council for Scotland decided not to strike him off and imposed conditions on his registration for the next two years.

The tribunal heard he had been suspended since November 2017, was sacked in June the following year, and had not worked since.

Giving evidence at his hearing, Tighe, who had been teaching for fourteen years, said: "I have never been the subject of disciplinary proceedings, and I have never had concerns raised about my fitness to teach.

"I would love nothing more than to return to primary teaching.

"I admitted to the allegations entirely and acknowledged that I fell far short of the standards expected of a teacher.

"I do not admit that my fitness to teach is currently impaired.

"I have reflected heavily on my actions and taken steps to address my behaviour."

In a written ruling, the General Teaching Council for Scotland said: "The panel noted that there had been no repetition of the behaviour once issues were raised with the relevant authorities and that the teacher had fully complied with court-imposed sentencing conditions.

"It had determined that there was a low likelihood of reoccurrence.

"The panel noted the teacher's firm commitment to returning to classroom teaching were he to be permitted to do so and was therefore of the view that working conditions could be imposed which would ensure public protection, and most importantly, the protection of children and young people."

They added: "The panel felt that the teacher came across as genuine and honest.

"He had answered some uncomfortable questions about his conduct in a composed, controlled manner, and his evidence was consistent with all the facts known and with evidence he had previously provided.

"The panel considered that whilst the shortfalls lay at the most serious end of the spectrum, they were capable of being remedied."