A TEACHER who told pupils “Hitler wasn’t all that bad” has been struck off.
David McNally, a religious education supply teacher at Kilwinning Academy, North Ayrshire, was found unfit to teach after he admitted all seven charges against him.
Mr McNally made a string of offensive remarks to pupils at the school in November last year, including: “Hitler wasn’t all bad, he killed the Jews, the gays and disabled.”
He also asked pupils “Are you a Jaky?” and “Did you have sex at the weekend?”
On another occasion, Mr McNally told S3 pupils: “I didn’t want to be a Teacher. I would have rather been a prison warden or a child abuser.”
Mr McNally also said: “I have a part-time job at a Children’s Home, they taught me how to whip a child with a wet towel without leaving a mark.
And he boasted: “I love my mobile phone because I can sit and watch porn on it.”
Mr McNally also made inappropriate comments about Jimmy Saville, which were not detailed, while teaching an S3 class.
Paul Reid, case presenter for the GTCS, described the remarks as “offensive”,“inappropriate” and said they caused “distress” to both parents and pupils.
Mr McNally was not present or represented but sent a letter to the GTCS in which he admitted all the charges.
Mr Paul Reid told the hearing in Edinburgh: “Mr McNally has provided a response but has chosen not to engage in the process.
Pupils
“The remarks were deeply offensive and inappropriate, and caused pupils and parents to make formal complaints.
“These comments were not said outside his workplace but were said in a classroom.
“In respect of the complaints these comments are clearly inappropriate.
“His conduct falls short of the expected standards of a teaching professional.
“He did admit these making these remarks, in his notice of defense he tries to dilute the effects of his remarks.
“In regards to the question of “did you have sex at the weekend”, Mr McNally claims it was a hypothetical statement in a discussion about abortion.
“I advise the panel to take a dim view of the man’s behaviour.
“In my opinion he is not fit to teach children – his comments have caused distress to parents and young people.”
Panel chairman Donald MacKay said: “Mr McNally has admitted the facts made against him.
“The panel has therefore found the facts proven.
Unfit
“He has admitted that he is impaired and is unfit to teach.
“The panel has decided he is unfit to teach, and he will be removed from the register.
“He can appeal the decision if he chooses too.”
The GTCS, in its official report on the hearing, said Mr McNally suggested he made the comments during a particularly bad day in a long career.
The teacher, on his “notice of defence form” stated: “I admit the facts detailed in the complaint.”
He added: “If the facts in the complaint are proved, I agree that this means I am unfit to teach.”
The report stated: “The parents were reported…as having been distressed at the circumstances, leading to a lack of confidence in the school.”
Mr McNally had “sought to contextualise or dilute the gravity” of his remarks by suggesting that they were made in a general sense and had not been directed to any individual.
The disciplinary panel noted that: “He had suggested that after a long career, this had been a particularly bad day resulting in these comments.”
But the panel rejected the suggestion that the comments had been made in a general sense, noting they had been made to two separate classes.
They concluded: “The Panel was of the view that the explanations by the Respondent did not reduce their gravity and considered that under any circumstances they were entirely inappropriate.”
A spokesman for North Ayrshire Council said: “The Council takes all cases of this nature very seriously and launched a full investigation into the matter. Mr McNally left his post at this time.
“The outcome of the hearing proves that we were right to act quickly.”
