SACKED gun case teacher Linda Walker has failed in a bid to win back her job.
The 48-year-old teacher was dismissed from her post at New Park High School, Eccles, two months ago, after she was convicted and jailed for firing an air pistol near youths.
Yesterday she appealed to three governors against the decision to sack her. But after a seven-hour hearing, the governors announced that they had upheld the original decision to dismiss her.
Her career was today left in tatters.
Twist
The appeal is the latest twist in a saga which has attracted strong public opinion.
Mrs Walker was arrested in August last year after an incident outside her home in Urmston. She had fired a gas-powered pistol at the ground, near the foot of Robert McKiernan.
Mrs Walker and her family said McKiernan and other youths had been involved in a long running campaign against them, a claim which he denies.
Mrs Walker was jailed for three months in April but was freed on appeal after spending 36 days in prison and had her punishment replaced with a 12-month suspended term.
Although her sentence was reduced, she was refused permission to challenge her convictions for affray and possessing a firearm with intent to cause violence. But her imprisonment led to an outcry with supporters claiming she had been badly treated.
In May, a four-hour disciplinary hearing decided Mrs Walker’s contract to teach at New Park High School should end.
Wrong message
At the time, Salford education spokesman Councillor Keith Mann, said it would give the wrong message if teachers with such convictions were allowed to continue work in the classroom.
Throughout the disciplinary procedures, Mrs Walker has been represented by teaching union the NASUWT. The appeal yesterday was held at Salford Council’s Broadwater Training Centre, beginning at 9.30am.
Her former employers spent most of the morning outlining reasons for Mrs Walker’s dismissal. Mrs Walker and her union , the NASUWT, had the chance to reply replied in the afternoon. No new evidence was allowed.
Mrs Walker declined to comment after the hearing.
Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said: “It is a tragedy after a hitherto unblemished career and years of commitment to the education service Mrs Walker has been dismissed.
“None of us know how we will react if we are faced with years of torment and abuse at the hands of a group of youngsters.
“It is regrettable that the governors have placed more emphasis on one lapse caused by extreme provocation rather than Mrs Walker’s years of service.
“We will now obviously be consulting with legal advisors to see if any other legal routes are open to Mrs Walker.”
Councillor John Warmisham, Salford Council’s lead member for children, said: “It would send the wrong message if teachers with such convictions were to be permitted to carry on in these circumstances.
“Clearly the school and local education authority must make their first consideration the safety of children in their care.
“I have no doubt that Mrs Walker felt under considerable pressure at the time of her offence.
“Some people might say her reaction is understandable but it is certainly not acceptable in a country which rightly prides itself on the rule of law and its consistent application.”
What now for Linda Walker? Have your say.
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Well once again its the tail wagging the dog.How many times do we have to watch people getting abused by these ferile children and how many times do we have to keep turning the other cheek? and how many times do we have to sit back and watch decent people "the teacher" have their lives wrecked,Because we have too many looney left liberals who will not stand up to these kids who push adults to the limit,and then scream "Help" when things go wrong ,Its about time we took control of our schools and children and teach them how to behave and have respect for adults .
It is a shame that Linda Walker lost her job over this. I think that firing at some yob should be perfectly legal in some circumstances such as these.
and you wonder why the scum parents and scum rug rats or yard ape get away with what they do. this teacher should sue the school system and the so called parents also the judge in this case. whats happening to the people of britain the teachers cant do anything the police wont do anything the parents wont do anything and the little scum bags know it so get with the programe and take back the parents responsability from them .
The school system doesn't deserve Linda Walker. In a walk on by society she took a stand against the yobs and deserves our praise and solidarity. Our politicians are silent as usual.
I think its absolutely disgusting the woman made one mistake and that was because she was pushed as far as she could go give linda her job back does she really need to be punished anymore i dont think so !!!!!!!!! Take care linda i hope things do work out for you and your family x
Another victory for common sense. Of course this unstable woman is unfit to have charge of children and is rightly barred from being in that position. The cure for the sickness of feral children is not in breaking the law oneself but in law enforcement agencies taking the bull by the horns and really clamping down on such behaviour - lawfully! I am fully aware that during today my views will attract hysterical name calling - so be it. I'd far rather that happen than condone dangerous actions.
Big K, I will not resort to hysterical name calling as you are entitled to your opinion but Linda Walker taught for many years with no incident and this actually happened outside of school hours. She snapped and momentarily lost control as we all do when pushed to the limits. Shame on the school Governers who could not appreciate this. Unfortunately, we are now at a point when children are raping and killing other children, terrorising residents in marauding gangs and ASBOs do not work. I know of a local youth near me on her 4TH ASBO. It is a joke. This is due to parents who couldn't give a damn and there is no punishment or deterrant for these kids. If nothing is done now, we will reap what we have sown and only then may the do gooders realise the damage they have done.
i am totally dismayed by the decision not to re-instate linda walker as a teacher. one lapse and her career goes up in smoke, and why because gmp, the legal and education systems failed her when she needed the most help.
so to all residents you now know you really are on your own trying to keep scumbag kids terrorising your streets/homes. last but not least what of all local politicians in urmston who have sat and said absolutely nothing, they are as bad as the scum on the streets.
under the new freedom of information act is it possible to find out which police officers failed in their duty to protect this lady and her family?, if so they should be named and shamed and sacked - without their cushy pension.
I agree with Big K from Stockport. People have to remember that this woman comitted a crime for which she has to pay the price. Tell mothers and fathers who sons have been shot dead that it is OK to go round with a gun and treaten people. I am a school gov myself and if I was on the board of this school I would have also upheld the dismissal of Linda Walker. Like Big K says we will get named called but at the end of the day Linda Walker committed a CRIME.
I think it is quite right that this woman has been sacked and has lost the appeal to be re-enstated. No matter what the children had done it does not give her the right to point a gun at them. As a teacher she should have known better what the causes of bad behaviour are, I would suggest that in future we get youth workers out onto the streets to work with young people. Young people can be a pain in the rear; but who socialises them: adults that's who, so in the end it's our fault, we are the ones who have messed up. Perhaps we owe them a bit more respect and invest a little more in them... then perhaps they will respect everyone else.
Faliling that, we could just issue all teachers with guns... yeah right that will sort it out; get real!
This woman is unstable in my opinion, she needs help, or at worst locking up in the interests of public safety.
It is quite right that the governors of the school have dismissed Mrs Walker. How can the young people of today learn to behave correctly if their teachers resort to the type of action Mrs. Walker did. As a teacher Mrs. Walker should have behaved in a far more appropriate way when dealing with these youths.
No wonder we have gangs of kids doing anything they like - recently including seriously injuring and killing people when the authorities take this view. This woman did not shoot at anyone. She shot at the floor. Out of school hours. At someone who has terrorised her and is lead suspect in burning down part of her property. I just hope all those thinking her dismissal is justified one day have to face up to the problems their attitudes cause. Unfortunately the rest of us who believe in a fair and decent society where gangs of kids don't get to do whatever they like to you will also be suffering.
I feel extremely sorry for Linda Walker. After being pestered myself and reading about more and more incidents in the news about the yob culture in which we live, I feel there is very little protection given to the public by the police. I would have no hesitation to Linda teaching my daughter.
If I was a Head Teacher, I would be proud to have Linda Walker on my staff.
To all of the people who support this decision: I hope to God that you are subjected to same torture and provocation that Linda Walker endured. Then perhaps you will be shaken out of your smug politically-correct liberalist paradise. Shame on the Guvernors for letting the scumbags win. They are probably still hanging around in their pathetic hoodies and laughing their little heads off about this. What was Linda's terrible crime? Oh yes - to shoot an airgun into the ground. How dreadful. Are airgus illegal? No. did she fire the popgun, sorry airgun directly at anyone? No. So where's the justice? Why is it that in this country we can stand up to suicide bombers, but some people haven't even got the stomach to stand up to the little scrots who have taken over our streets? I despair. Totally totally wrong decision.
Ace. Are you living in cloud-cuckoo land mate? It isn't so-called "looney left liberals, it is the raving rabid right. But then I expect you know that, and you are just trying to indoctrinate people with falsehoods. Or maybe it's because YOU have been indoctrinated with falsehoods! Big K. So anyone who is driven to distraction is unstable are they? Get real! "People have to remember that this woman committed a crime...." blah blah blah! "I think it's quite right that this woman has been sacked.... " blah blah blah! "It's quite right that the governors of the school have dismissed Mrs Walker...." blah blah blah! What planet ARE you people ON! That's assuming you are people/human of course, and not robotic entities!!
Surely Linda should have invited the yobs into her home to help themselves to her belongings and then shoot her family? what was she thinking of trying to have a go back? surely she knows thats just not the done thing these days! the fact that children are now killing/raping other children is no surprise. look at the governers of schools and generally the powers that be. they are all lily livered push overs with no gumption. they ought be ashamed of themselves. they have sent the "wrong message" by refusing to give Linda her job back. I hope that one day all of you who think she was wrong suffer what she suffered and then you may be in a position to comment. you really have got your politically correct heads stuck in the sand. Linda, good luck to you and your family in the future, there are many, many people who support you 100%.
The following is a scene from P Trowe's 'reality': "Excuse me children, I'm sorry to bother you, but I would be very grateful indeed if you could refraim from breaking my windows and throwing cans and bottles in my garden, and all the myriad other things you do and have been doing for the past several years now". "Yes, of course Mrs Walker, we would be more than happy to comply with your polite request".
BigK from stockport,are you for real, don't you think it's about time for the authorities to start dealing with the real problems of this country the school my son attends is that bad they have it's own Policeman on site.
Don't you think it's about time we stood up to be counted like Linda and say enough is enough.and now we have a young girl murdered,3 young girls raped..............
We can go on and on, so bigK do us all a favour and get real.................
Having read the comments, it seems like everyone is trying to blame someone. The blame itself is with the parents. Parents should control their children. If you teach a child what's wrong and what's right from a very early age, they will understand. Children are like fresh canvas, a sponge - they store, copy, mimic what we adults (parents) do at home, our actions etc. When they watch television at an early age, it should be educational stuff not violent stuff. Parents let their children stay up late, watch whatever they want and let them do whatever they want to. They do not tell their kids off for doing something wrong, and therefore the kids see it as being ok to do these things. This will be normal for them. I have a daughter who is 15 months old. She is a handful, but if she is doing something wrong, I tell her by saying, no - that's wrong, don't do it - and I say it in a very gentle and soft voice and then move her away from the offending object or area. I have noticed now that when she goes near the fire (which is protected with a fireguard), I tell her not to go near it, no,it's dangerous. She immediately stops and moves away and does something else. So you can see children do learn from a very early age, and this learning is down to parents. I hope that my daughter will be a model citizen when she grows up. We have been brought up to respect our elders, people in position such as teachers, police, our parents and their friends etc. This wasn't beaten into us, it was done in a gentle way, teaching us what is right and wrong. And this works, and that is the way I will work with my child. We see our peers as our guidance such as parents, grandparent, and elder relatives (I am a british asian).
What this teacher did was wrong, but it must have been the last straw for her. A teacher is a very patient person, and for her to break it must have been very bad.
I hope that the parent of this child starts taking some action now, before their son becomes into a adult convict. That convict could be the one that murders/rapes our son/daughter or we could be the victims of burglary carried out by him.
A good society can only be nurtured at home, and that's were it all begins. We are not born bad people, but some turn bad because they are not guided properly.
Firstly do not give up. If you can appeal against this dreadful decision then you must do so, exhaust the appeals procedure to the end.
At the next election I would urge voters not to vote for Keith Mann as he gives the wrong message to voters and it would be a travesty if he was re-elected as a councillor. Clearly he does not represent the wishes of the people.
She works with children, and she loses control, clearly doubts have been raised about her suitability for the job.
If she worked in most any other profession, she should have retained her position.
The decision that has been made is the right one, Salford council cant run the risk that she may lose control again.
Sorry SB, don't blame parents, it isn't parents who won't prosecute under 18's, it isn't parents who release criminals early and it isn't parents who abolished discipline in schools or detention centres. These things are in the hands of our arrogant political elite who don't care about victims.
It seems to me that Linda Walker has good grounds for appeal. The only issue is whether she is a fit person to be a teacher. What message the decision made by the governers is perceived to be given to others is a totally irrelevant consideration. In taking such matter into account the rights of Mrs Walker to natural justice have once again been denied to her.
If the governors and councillors have any integrity they would explain how they are going to ensure that all potential teachers in the future are able to withstand severe provocation when under pressure before they are appointed. I suggest that if they did this they would soon discover there was a severe shortage of suitable teachers.
The rule of law did nothing to help Mrs Walker's plight and referring to such rule is just adding insult to injury.
I would suggest the governors and councillors should be hanging their heads in shame. After all, these smirking louts who roam our streets are the products of their schools. The governors can destroy Mrs Walker's career and the street yobs will carry on aggravating the community knowing that anyone who tries to stand up to them is likely to be severely punished. The rule of law is useless. Salford is well known for its petty crime - park your car there and it is the last you will see of it. The Council's advertising campaign at the Airport is nothing but a sick joke.
Gone are the days in this country when a child was disciplined for even being disrespectful to an elder. I cannot see any improvement in child behaviour for the future until the rod is brought back. This woman reacted out of frustration of this current system.
A teacher told me that the children in the gangland schools in Cape Town, South Africa are far better behaved than the kids over here simply because they are disciplined by the teachers.