A former Deputy Head Teacher was dismissed after she and a fellow teacher carried a six year old boy into the school from the playground.

Mrs Ellis had 20 years of unblemished teaching experience when she had been in charge of Hafod-y-Wern because the Headmaster was away for a day. After the boy had refused to re-enter the school after play-time the school attempted to call his mother but she was unable to attend. Mrs Ellis then made the decision to bring him in herself with the help of a teaching aide.

The two teachers lifted him from under the armpits and carried him into the school. Mrs Ellis informed the Head Teacher on his return. The actions she described was shown on the school's CCTV footage. The school's governors launched an investigation into Mrs Ellis' conduct which led to their decision that it amounted to both physical and emotional abuse of the student. Therefore this amounted to gross misconduct, despite his mother having not complained. Following a two day disciplinary hearing Mrs Ellis was dismissed last year.

Since her dismissal Mrs Ellis has maintained that she believed her actions were in the best interests of the student's safety. She was not the only one who was disciplined, however, with another teacher being dismissed and a further two teaching assistants being disciplined. The incident and her subsequent dismissal has caused Mrs Ellis a substantial amount of stress and anxiety. However, she felt that she needed to put forward a case for Unfair Dismissal in order to clear her name.

Just before any evidence was to be heard, the Employment Tribunal was told that a confidential settlement had been reached.

Wrexham council said: "The hearing was adjourned pending final agreement of a confidential settlement that was acceptable to both parties." Mrs Ellis is unsure as to whether or not she will ever return to teaching and has taken a role as an office cleaner in the mean time. "I don't want to go back at this moment in time, not because I think I've done wrong but because of the stress this has caused," she said.