Ashburton teacher Wendy Hopwood’s registration cancelled after making fun of students

A primary teacher who made fun of pupils with learning disabilities, pulled a finger at other children and told some to "p*** off" will no longer be allowed to teach.

Wendy Maree Hopwood also ripped up pupils' artwork and tore pages from their workbooks, throwing them in the bin if she believed they had made a mistake.

She called one a "crybaby" and told another that he did not "have the balls" to look at her after losing his pencil.

On several occasions, the Ashburton teacher was seen calling pupils "dummies" or referring to them as "thick".

Hopwood's conduct between 2019 and 2021 has been scrutinised by the Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal, which released its decision on Thursday to cancel her teaching registration.

According to the decision, Hopwood had worked at Tinwald School since 2013, initially in job-share situations and then fulltime since 2015.

She resigned in December 2021 and then worked as a relief teacher.

The Teaching Council charged her with serious misconduct after complaints about her behaviour were made in 2022 by teacher aides and pupils at Tinwald School, which takes children up to Year 6. The charges were then heard by the tribunal.

The subsequent decision reported that a pupil with learning difficulties was left crying when Hopwood made fun of his reading ability and called him names.

Another pupil who struggled with reading and writing was mocked in front of the class. The boy later said he hated Hopwood and hated going to school.

The decision also detailed how Hopwood would swear at, or around, pupils and would often raise a middle finger at them.

Pupils reported how she ripped up their artwork, with one saying they went home and cried afterwards.

Teacher aides assigned to those who needed extra help complained that, on occasions, Hopwood refused to let them assist.

"You're not working with them today, because they just sit there and wait for you to do it for them, so you can go and work with someone else," one aide reported her as saying.

At a hearing held by the tribunal in March, Hopwood admitted the charges but said that, when she swore in the classroom, it was never directed at the children.

She also said that ripping up work was usual classroom practice and was not malicious.

According to the decision, Hopwood was assessed as having created an environment where children were afraid to share their work and make mistakes.

"Her conduct in ripping up or destroying students' work in front of them or their peers demonstrated a total lack of regard for the students' emotional well-being," submissions made by the Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC), which investigated the conduct on behalf of the council, stated.

"Further, Mrs Hopwood's refusal to help students with learning difficulties demonstrates a clear disregard for the wellbeing of students and for specific learning needs."

The CAC's submissions said that, given the pupils' young age and vulnerability, Hopwood had unrealistic expectations of them and reprimanded them for not meeting those expectations.

She provided medical evidence by way of an explanation for her behaviour, but the details of that evidence have been suppressed.

The tribunal found that Hopwood's conduct consisted of a highly inappropriate pattern of behaviour over a long time and targeted at multiple pupils.

It said there was no evidence that she had apologised to any of her pupils, colleagues or children's whānau.

"The tribunal concluded that cancellation of Mrs Hopwood's registration is appropriate and would be a proportionate penalty response, primarily because of the nature and gravity of her course of behaviour in a Year 3 and 4 primary school class setting," the decision stated.

"There is a need to protect the health and wellbeing interests of students and a need to maintain professional standards and, in this case, cancellation of registration is required to achieve these penalty objectives, in the tribunal's view."

In addition to her registration being cancelled, Hopwood was ordered to pay $4000 in legal costs.

Hopwood's most recent annual practising certificate expired in September 2024 and, according to the register, it has not been renewed.

A spokesperson for Tinwald School said they were supportive of the tribunal's ruling following a report it had made in 2021.

"We have contacted those families affected by the misconduct of this teacher, as well as the wider Tinwald School community, to provide transparency to the situation as well as offering support as needed," the spokesperson said.

"We would like it to be known that this teacher was no longer employed by Tinwald School at the time of these reports...We will continue to provide our faculty with the means in which to feel supported, so our students and their families feel safe and respected. "

Hopwood has been approached for comment through her union representative.

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.