A teacher did nothing wrong in allowing a child to remain in a school toilet for more than four hours, a professional standards committee has ruled. Sally Berry's actions did no harm to the child who came out of the cubicle "calm and happy", said panel chair Sue Davies.

The child, who has additional needs, had no food or drink during his time in the toilet at Waldo Williams Primary in Haverfordwest from around 11am until 3.20pm, the hearing had been told. But he used the two metre by two metre toilet cubicle, which opened onto the classroom, as a place to calm down.

Mrs Berry had averted the risk of the boy becoming angry and violent, as he had in the past, by allowing him to come out in his own time, even if that was four hours, the Education Workforce Council Wales committee ruled.. Trying to persuade the child to do something he didn't want could have been worse, the committee concluded. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

On the final day of the remote hearing on April 11 the committee judged that Mrs Berry could have told senior staff earlier in the day that the boy, referred to as Child A, was in the toilet. But chair Sue Davies said they found the teacher's evidence that senior staff had previously been unresponsive credible, and agreed this caused her not to seek help earlier.

Mrs Davies said it was obvious that relations with headteacher Debbie Bond, who has now left the school, had broken down. Safeguarding processes and reporting at Waldo Williams Primary were unclear at the time and it was not even clear what the timescale for reporting safeguarding matters was.

The committee also found that although Mrs Berry falsely told the boy's parents that she had checked on him every five to 10 minutes while he was in the toilet, she and others had checked him regularly and he was safe. They found allegations that she had acted without integrity and had been dishonest, not proved and also judged that she was not guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

The toilet cubicle was large, opened onto the classroom. had a skylight and a chair and a tap from which he could get water, the panel noted. Although the boy had shut himself inside he was safe, within the classroom, albeit in a cubicle, was within earshot and checked on.

Mrs Berry, an experienced teacher who was in charge of the school's special resource unit, had acted appropriately in difficult circumstances, the panel found. She had also given instructions to two teaching assistants on how to respond to the boy when she left the classroom at lunchtime, the committee chair said.

Mrs Berry, who left the school after the incident in May 2023, now works for a homeless charity but is free to return to teaching. No sanctions were imposed on her registration which remains unblemished.

Wishing the teacher well, after a week of at times emotional evidence , panel chair Mrs Davies said: "We wish Mrs Berry all the best with her future career.

Attending the hearing and present to hear the conclusion Mrs Berry seemed relieved and smiled as the chair read out the panel's decision.

The allegations against Mrs Berry and the panel's conclusions

• Mrs Berry had admitted allegations that on January 26 2023, when another child, Child X, made a comment threatening to harm a child, referred to as Child B , she had not informed the school designated safeguarding person (DSP) and/or the headteacher; and/or the child care assessment team in a timely manner. But the committee found these allegations not proved, despite Mrs Berry's admission, because it found she had done her duty and Child X, who made the threats was not in school that afternoon, no harm came to Child Band the childcare assessment team didn't deem any further action was needed.
• Allegations that Mrs Berry permitted Child A to remain in a toilet cubicle for a duration of over three hours; and/or did not provide sufficient instructions to learning support assistants on how to respond to him and/or recommend strategies they should use in accordance with his "positive handling plan" were found not proved. Committee chair Sue Davies said: "the committee did not consider that Mrs Berry allowed him to stay in the toilet, The committee found she had tried to get him to come out. Child A chose to go into the toilet and appropriate steps were taken. "He was in a safe place in the learning resource centre room. Mrs Berry was clear in her evidence that if she had pushed him to leave it would have resulted in violent and aggressive behaviour. "When he left he was happy and calm."

Allegations that Mrs Berry did not respond to the child in accordance with his positive handling plan and/or did not arrange for him to be supervised during the lunch period were also found not proved because there was no evidence provided to show she had been guilty of this, the committee found. The panel found that Mrs Berry had falsely told Child A's parents he had been checked on every five to 10 minutes while he was in the toilet. But while they found this allegation proved they pointed out that Mrs Berry had admitted it and had said she should have used the term "regularly" instead. It was also clear that the child had been checked on by her and other staff during his time in the toilet.

• Similarly the committee found it proved that Mrs Berry created an "antecedent, behaviour and consequence" form in respect of the incident with Child A on 22 May 2023, which contained incorrect information in terms of how often she had checked him, but an allegation it also contained inaccuracies in the strategies she used was found not proved.
• Having found the majority of the allegations not proved, the committee found allegations that Mrs Berry's actions lacked integrity and were dishonest not proved and judged it was not shown that she was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

Attending the hearing and present to hear the conclusion Mrs Berry seemed relieved and smiled as the chair read out the panel's decision.

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