Teaching assistant, 29, caught dancing on video while off sick after getting injured copying Dirty Dancing lift can return to work
- Rachel Davies, 29, injured her knee copying the lift from the Dirty Dancing film
- The teacher took time off from job at Wrexham Early Years Centre, North Wales
- But colleagues saw her dancing at home on Snapchat when she was on leave
- A disciplinary panel proved the allegation but said it was not unacceptable professional conduct and allowed her to return
A teacher off work after getting injured copying the sexy lift from movie Dirty Dancing can return to school – because she was allowed to dance on sick leave.
Rachel Davies, 29, took time off on the sick from her classroom after hurting her knee copying the dance move with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.
But she was caught dancing at home by her colleagues on Snapchat when she was on sick leave.
A hearing was told Davies claimed she couldn’t work as teaching assistant at Wrexham Early Years Centre, North Wales, after the ‘Dirty Dancing’ injury.
The disciplinary panel found the allegation of dancing on sick leave was proved – but said her actions did not amount to unacceptable professional conduct.
Rachel Davies, 29, can return to school despite being caught dancing while on sick leave after getting injured copying the sexy lift from movie Dirty Dancing. Pictured: Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey cause a stir in the 1987 film
Committee chair Andy Liptrot said: ‘The reason given by Miss Davies for her sick leave was that she was having trouble with her right knee.
‘It had been suggested at the time that she sustained this injury while doing a lift from Dirty Dancing.
‘A video was seen on or around June 2019 having been posted by her partner.
‘It seemed to indicate that Miss Davies could dance on her knee despite the fact that she said she could not work on it.
‘The video clearly depicts her moving and dancing on both feet. Both legs were clearly weight bearing.
‘However the committee was not persuaded that Miss Davies’ conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
‘Her decisions were ill-judged. It raised the question of whether she could have returned to work in some capacity.
A hearing was told Davies claimed she couldn’t work as teaching assistant at Wrexham Early Years Centre, North Wales, after the ‘Dirty Dancing’ injury. The disciplinary panel found the allegation of dancing on sick leave was proved – but said her actions did not amount to unacceptable professional conduct
‘Notably, evidence clearly specifies that Miss Davies was off work with an injury. There is no clear and obvious wrongdoing from Miss Davies. This conduct was an isolated lapse.’
The hearing was told Davies had been classroom assistant for ten years before going on sick leave in 2019 due to an injury to her knee.
A fellow teacher at the centre, Rachel Costeloe, said: ‘During my meeting with her, she admitted that she was the person in the video. She said she was hopping on one leg but in the video I could clearly see her running on both legs.’
The Education Workforce Council committee found Davies also broke school policy by adding parents at the school as friends on Instagram.
Davies was also found to have posted letters from her employer Wrexham Council on social media with comments such as ‘instead of f***ing fining me… why not offer to help get my daughter in school.’
Another letter from the council was posted with the caption: ‘Kiss my fat arse I’ve paid the f***ing thing’.
The committee found that this amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and Davies was slapped with a two year reprimand.
Mr Liptrot said: ‘The committee concluded that Miss Davies had behaved in a way which was completely unacceptable.
‘She was a role model both at work and in the school and in the school community. She was required to behave professionally at all times.
‘The letters were posted with crass and vulgar annotations.’
He added: ‘The committee reminds Miss Davies to adhere to the code should she seek to continue to her career in education.’