A prep school has said it now wants to focus on the future, after a teacher who was unfairly dismissed following parents raising concerns about her lack of qualifications was awarded more than £141,000 in damages.

The judge also ruled that Sue Allington, who had taught at Rose Hill School in Tunbridge Wells since 2002, was a victim of indirect age discrimination.

An employment tribunal heard that Mrs Allington, who was 60 at the time she was dismissed in August 2019, had three A levels did not have a degree or any teaching qualifications.

Mrs Allington, who was previously head of girls' games, had been teaching Year 2 students for two days a week since 2012 and was responsible for lesson planning and assessing pupils.

In 2018 three parents, who had children going into Year 2 at the Coniston Avenue school, raised concerns with the head teacher Emma Neville about Mrs Allington's lack of qualifications.

Before this, no questions had been raised about Mrs Allington's performance or her training. She was also described as the "best person for the job" by a former head of the school.

However, following the discussion with the parents, Ms Neville decided that to improve pupil retention and admission rates, all classes should be led by a qualified teacher.

Mrs Allington was told she could gain the necessary qualifications or become a full-time teaching assistant.

The demotion would have resulted in her pay being slashed from £30,723 plus pension contributions to £19,095.

When Ms Neville first told Mrs Allington of her plans, she said that "…government directive is that schools should only employ qualified teachers as a basic requirement".

However independent schools have always been allowed to employed unqualified staff, which Ms Neville later confirmed, but said the new strategy was "best practice".

Mrs Allington refused the changes to her role in their current form but through a union rep said she wanted to discuss how the school might mitigate her change of role and pay.

Further option were put forward by Mrs Allington and her union representative, including staying in her role while undergoing training, with tuition support from the school.

These proposals were not accepted and Mrs Allington's contract was terminated in August 2019.

In a ruling given last month, Judge Ian Truscott, QC, sitting at the London south employment tribunal, said that people between 60 and 65 years old were particularly disadvantaged by the requirement, "because they do not have time available to complete the qualifications and get the benefits that would flow from it before retirement."

He added that the school "did not show that it had undertaken even the basic research to conclude that having all qualified teachers would maintain a competitive edge or that it would meet ever-increasing

parental expectation." These were reasons given by the school for the change in policy.

The tribunal ruled that the claimant’s claims of unfair dismissal indirect age discrimination were well founded. The tribunal awarded Allington £141,334.

In a statement the school said: "We were surprised by the outcome given the advice and support we had received from our legal team (of solicitors and counsel) and from our insurers (who have covered any liability resulting from the judgment), but we see no benefit in making any further comment on the case.

"We wish Mrs Allington well and we are now focusing on a successful return to school and ensuring that the children at Rose Hill get the best that the school can provide as on-site teaching begins again."

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