Teacher censured after being caught stealing food from pupils' lunch boxes

A teacher at a childcare centre in New Zealand has been censured after she was caught on camera stealing food from the lunch boxes of her pupils.

A Teachers Council complaints assessment committee decision said the children were not believed at first when they complained that food was going missing from their lunch boxes.



It was not until the woman was caught on CCTV opening the children's lunch boxes and either putting the contents in a plastic bag, a pocket or straight into her mouth, that it became apparent the children were telling the truth. The woman did not deny the allegations and in a letter to the Teachers Council made no excuses for her behaviour, accepting that it amounted to serious misconduct.

"She emphasised that she was trying to put this incident behind her, that there would be no repetition, and that she was hoping to move on with her career," the committee's decision said. On a charge of serious misconduct, the woman was censured and conditions were placed on her practising certificate for five years that she must disclose the decision to all future employers who require a practising certificate and tell the council that she had done so.