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Jan 16, 2024

Teacher accused of pushing student off hoverboard has charge dismissed

Share this article A teacher alleged to have pushed a Year 6 boy off a

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A teacher alleged to have pushed a Year 6 boy off a hoverboard has been cleared of the charge. Photo / 123rf

A "diligent and passionate" teacher has been cleared of wrongdoing after a student accused him of pushing him off a hoverboard.

After around an hour of deliberation, the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal ruled there was insufficient evidence to establish the teacher of 10 years had pushed the student.

As the outcome was read, the teacher's family, who had attended the hearing, broke down in tears and embraced one another.

The Western Bay of Plenty teacher, whose name and school at which he worked have been suppressed, faced a charge of serious misconduct after a Year 6 student alleged he was pushed or kicked off his hoverboard at the end of a lunch break between September and November 2020.

That student did not give evidence. Three authority members who considered the charge relied on statements and verbal evidence by two student witnesses, who were aged 11 at the time of the alleged push.

They said the teacher kicked either their friend or the hoverboard he was riding, resulting in him falling. He was uninjured.

The child's mother complained to the school, who placed the teacher on leave and referred the matter to the Teaching Council. The teacher later left, taking up a role at another Bay of Plenty school.

The teacher consistently denied he pushed the student or his hoverboard.

He had no recollection of engaging with the three students while they were using a hoverboard over the specified period.

He said he loved his job at the school and only months earlier had spoken to his partner about how he planned a long-term career there.

His new employer gave evidence that the teacher is a diligent staff member with a passion for teaching.

The teacher's lawyer Janette Brown referred to evidence from one of the student witnesses that he and his group of friends felt the teacher treated them unfairly.

"It's been submitted that there was no motive to lie, but I think there might be. [The witness] really did have a beef with [the teacher]."

There was also ambiguity in the evidence of the two children, Brown said.

There was no specified date of when the alleged incident occurred, nor was there clarity around whether the teacher's leg connected with the student or the hoverboard, or precisely where it allegedly happened.

Milan Djurich, lawyer for the complaints assessment committee that lodged the charge, said the two students only shared their side of the story when asked by the deputy principal. They did not lay any complaints themselves.

"There was no motive for them to lie."

Tribunal deputy-chairwoman Rachael Schmidt-McCleave said there was insufficient evidence, on the balance of probabilities, to establish the charge.

The evidence also lacked clarity, she said.

As the outcome was revealed, the teacher buried his face in his hands.

A judgment with the full details of the tribunal's reasoning will be released in due course, Schmidt-McCleave said.

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