The Discipline Committee hears matters regarding allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence which have been referred by the Complaints Committee following investigation.
The College is mandated to publish a summary of its disciplinary decisions and reasons when the Discipline Committee makes a finding of guilt. These disciplinary decisions are then published on the College’s website, on our blog and on CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute’s website.
Sandra Teves, RECE # 26833
Facts: The Member pled guilty to professional misconduct. Following an uncontested hearing, the Discipline Committee accepted the following admissions as facts.
While supervising a group of kindergarten-aged children at the school’s fenced-in outdoor play area, the Member locked the play area and brought the children inside without conducting a headcount and without checking the attendance and walking through the yard to ensure that all the children were present.
The Member then left on a lunch break without conducting a physical count of the children, who remained under the supervision of another staff member. As a result, a child remained in the play area, alone and unsupervised for approximately 30-40 minutes in 1 degree Celsius weather, until a passing mailman found the child in the locked play area and brought the child back to the school. The Member did not notice that the child was missing until she returned from her lunch break and observed the Child crying in the company of the school’s Principal.
Finding: In its decision, the panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including failing to supervise adequately a person who was under her professional supervision; failing to maintain the standards of the profession; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; and conducting herself in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The panel stated: “The Member did not provide the children under her care with a safe environment. She failed to model appropriate behaviour required by legislation and regulation, and by the College’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Her conduct negatively reflected on the profession as a whole and could erode public confidence.”
Penalty: The Committee directed the Registrar to suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for six months and to impose terms, conditions and limitations on the Member’s certificate of registration. The Committee also required the Member to appear before it to be reprimanded and ordered the Member to pay $1,000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.