Chelmsford ‘chattering monkeys’ teacher not unfairly dismissed

A primary school teacher who told her class they were “chattering monkeys” has lost her claim for unfair dismissal.

Charlotte Moore was a teacher at Trinity St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in Chelmsford, Essex, until her dismissal in July 2023.

It followed a disciplinary investigation, led by the deputy head teacher, that looked into allegations against Mrs Moore, including that she grabbed a child by the neck and told her class she would “shoot anyone” who asked any more questions.

An employment tribunal has concluded that she was fairly dismissed.

A parent raised a complaint with the school and police about language allegedly used by Mrs Moore in class on 14 March 2023.

She was accused of calling the class of Year 6 children “chattering monkeys”. The parent said the comment was “very racist”.

Mrs Moore – who started at the school in April 2021 – told her class they were “getting on her nerves so much she wanted to shoot herself or them”.

Other allegations made against Mrs Moore included that she said she would “shoot anyone” who asked questions, and over time negatively affected the children’s wellbeing.

She was said to have grabbed and squeezed a child’s neck on one occasion, and also grabbed a child by their collar and shook them.

During her suspension, Mrs Moore made contact with school employees, which was in breach of her suspension.

A disciplinary panel in July 2023 found she had not demonstrated an understanding that her actions were inappropriate and amounted to gross misconduct.

It found “the allegations were very serious and included aggressive physical contact with a student”, and it concluded that pupils were subjected to “unsafe behaviour” from someone whose role it was to set a positive example and establish a safe, happy environment.

Mrs Moore went to the tribunal to claim that the panel’s finding of gross misconduct was based on a biased process. She said there were factual inaccuracies and that it had been “unduly harsh”.

But the tribunal concluded she had not been unfairly dismissed.