Teacher who let pupils remove Covid face masks was unfairly fired

A teacher was unfairly sacked after he allowed his pupils to take their Covid face masks at private school's talent show, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Henry Howlett told students they could take their masks off 'if they felt anxious' or 'uncomfortable' during the pandemic-era performance, it was heard.

The teacher worked at a £17,000-a-year independent Steiner school in East Sussex which follows the holistic belief that children learn with their 'head, heart and hands'.

The tribunal heard he was fired for gross misconduct over the mask incident and after he took his pupils on a school trip without seeking the appropriate consent forms from parents.

He sued for unfair dismissal and the tribunal has now upheld his claims after hearing of the 'unstable' school environment, which was heavily criticised by Ofsted.

The judge said his sacking was a 'dishonest', money-driven, and 'opportunistic enterprise' - which did not reflect the 'averred ethos of this school' - which was run at the time by a principal other staff branded an 'authoritarian leader'.

The tribunal, held in South London, heard Mr Howlett started working for Michael Hall School Forest Row, East Sussex, during 2015.

The institution - the oldest of its kind in England - follows the ethos of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian social reformer who believed in learning through play and hands-on experience.

The panel heard that the school faced challenges in 2019 and had been rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted after the appointment of principal, Paul Farr.

The school's head came from a 'mainstream education background' and his colleagues branded him as an 'authoritarian leader' who was 'unsympathetic to the Steiner ethos'.

The tribunal heard that in October 2020, Mr Howlett arranged an educational school trip to Battle Abbey in East Sussex, which is the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings.

It was heard that at this time, the school - which charges up to £5,750 per term - had introduced a new system for parents to give their consent to such trips, which was regarded as being 'unreliable'.

Days before the trip, the school's health and safety manager emailed Mr Howlett to say that four students did not have up to date consent forms.

That week, he emailed a member of the senior leadership team informing them of his intention to take the pupils to the abbey, and she told him to 'have a wonderful trip'.

Mr Howlett read this email and regarded it as a 'sign off' so assumed it 'meant that the paperwork was in place'.

The trip took place on the morning of October 15 and the health and safety advisor later realised the missing consent forms had not been 'secured'.

Notably, Mr Howlett did not have direct access to the system - so there was no way for him to check this.

Later that month, on October 21, the school hosted a school talent show, in which the attendees were asked to stay in their classes - or 'bubbles' - wearing masks due to Covid.

An email was sent on behalf of Mr Farr to pupils which said 'obviously those students who cannot wear a face covering due to physical reasons or if they cause them distress will be exempt'.

It was noted at this time, schools had the 'the discretion to require face coverings' if needed.

During the talent show, a lot of Mr Howlett's students were not wearing masks, it was heard.

'He informed that (sic) a number of students felt restricted by them, and they did not need to wear them,' the tribunal said.

This sparked outrage among some of his colleagues and he was asked to attend a fact finding meeting on the matter.

It was heard that during this discussion, he dismissed the matter as being 'neither urgent nor safeguarding issue'.

He left the meeting mid way through and a member of the senior leadership team (SLT) warned him that this would amount to 'insubordination', a choice of word which the panel found to be 'unusual' in the 'context of an informal chat'.

Mr Farr suspended Mr Howlett on October 22.

The teacher was called to a disciplinary meeting where he was asked if he told students they 'didn't have to wear' masks.

In response, he said: 'Yes, but only if they felt anxious or uncomfortable about wearing it.'

The tribunal said that the use of the word 'anxiety' as opposed to 'distress' may have caused his pupils not to wear masks.

Another class attended the show without wearing masks and Mr Howlett said this may have 'influenced' some of his pupils.

Mr Howlett denied an accusation that he told the students not to wear them.

The teacher was accused of displaying a 'pattern of apathy towards safeguarding' which resulted in his dismissal for gross misconduct in December 2020.

The tribunal heard evidence by one member of staff who said that Mr Howlett was a 'good teacher', who they 'did not want to lose' as 'good Steiner teachers are hard to come by'.

The teacher took the school to an employment tribunal which has now upheld Mr Howlett's claims of unfair dismissal.

Employment Judge Denis Harley said Mr Howlett's dismissal was an attempt for the struggling school to save money.

'This dismissal represented a net saving in cash terms, at a time when the school was actively trying to save money,' the judge added.

'The trip incident was used as a bolt-on to the "mask" issue to justify the dismissal of a member of staff, unpopular with management.

'I consider this dismissal was not simply the result of an unfair process, or an inept investigation lying beyond the band of reasonable responses, but rather was a dishonest and opportunistic enterprise, which did not reflect the averred ethos of this school.'

The panel ruled that an aspect which went unmentioned was the 'effect this episode had on the children's education'.

'Their parents had paid for Steiner education, an important aspect of which was the ongoing support and development achieved from having the same teacher for a sustained period,' he continued. 'This was taken from them.

'The pupils had no opportunity to say goodbye to their teacher.

'No reasonable school management would have overseen this process, in the given circumstances.'

MailOnline has approached the school for comment.