A FORMER teacher at a Gwent secondary school committed unacceptable professional conduct, a Teaching Council for Wales today proved.

Kim Shaw, who was an English teacher at Pontllanfraith comprehensive school for 28 years, faced five allegations relating to her professional conduct.

All five allegations were found to be proven:

• Mrs Shaw breached her duty of confidentiality during the school’s internal disciplinary investigation.

• She behaved inappropriately towards their line manager and head of department.

• She behaved inappropriately towards the then head teacher.

• She behaved inappropriately towards her colleagues, in that she unnecessarily sought to involve them in the school’s disciplinary and grievance process.

• She made vexatious allegations to the WJEC in an attempt to bring the school into disrepute.

Mrs Shaw was first suspended by the school in autumn 2010 and was dismissed in 2012.

Mrs Shaw will have to provide details of her conditional order to schools when taking up teaching posts between summer 2015 and 2016.

She will also have to submit reports from the schools where she teaches at the end of each half term to the General Teaching Council for Wales.

If she does not teach during this period, the order will be extended until 10 half term reports have been submitted.

Mrs Shaw now works as a supply teacher.

Speaking after the ruling with her husband by her side, Mrs Shaw said: "Teaching is my life. I have to be in a classroom for my welfare and happiness.

"Financially, it means we can keep our home which is enormously important to us."

Her legal representative Colin Adkins, of the teaching union the NASUWT, said: "I think what's taken place is that the panel had enormous sympathy for the position Mrs Shaw found herself in.

"However they believed the General Teaching Council for Wales must be seen to act.

"This represents a halfway house decision."

He added: "No one in the council has been held accountable for this illegal act.

"What we are asking is accountability.

"We are not calling for people to be sacked but we expect appropriate sanctions to be taken against them."

Mrs Shaw will be able to appeal the conditional registration order to the High Court within the next four weeks.