A TEACHER is being allowed to continue working despite admitting allowing personal problems to affect her standards.

Susan Preston, who worked at Sandon High School, in Meir, between July 2003 and April 2007, was said to have failed to improve her classroom management and lesson planning despite being offered support by the school in the last year of her employment.

Mrs Preston, who has been teaching for 18 years, left the school in April 2007 after a period in which her performance was monitored.

Yesterday, the General Teaching Council (GTC) agreed that she was guilty of serious professional incompetence while employed as a teacher at Sandon High.

The GTC committee heard how Mrs Preston, of Sherbourne Drive, Newcastle, had worked in primary schools before accepting a temporary post at Sandon High School in July 2003, which then became permanent.

Presenting officer Andrew Faux said that the school had been concerned with Mrs Preston's performance during the last two years of her employment and that she was suspended on medical grounds in September 2006 before returning in December.

The committee heard that Mrs Preston was observed in lessons by a school effectiveness officer who noticed that the class was very much teacher-led with little differentiation and that homework was given without a clear explanation.

Wanda Simmonds, representing Mrs Preston, said: "During the time she [Mrs Preston] took on the permanent position she had personal problems at home, which caused her to become depressed. Her husband was undergoing tests for bowel cancer and this had an impact on her performance at work."

The committee heard that since leaving Sandon, Mrs Preston had been teaching at St Teresa's Catholic Primary School in Trent Vale.

Peter Thorpe, former headteacher of the primary school, told the committee he had been satisfied with Mrs Preston's teaching.

He said: "Her teaching style is formal, but that fitted reasonably well into how we work.

"She was a hard worker and supported her team. In the right environment she could develop into a very good teacher."

The GTC committee chairman, Tony Neal, said the panel had considered all the evidence and, given the nature of the case, decided that a conditional registration order was an appropriate punishment.

This means Mrs Preston will have to undertake accredited training to demonstrate satisfactory competence before taking another teaching post in a secondary school.

After the hearing, on behalf of Mrs Preston, Ms Simmonds, said: "As stated in our evidence to the GTC, Mrs Preston was suffering from severe stress and depression at the time of the events in this case.

"A compromise agreement was reached with the local education authority which led her to leaving the school.

"She had responded well to treatment and now has no problem with any aspect of her teaching.

"Since leaving Sandon she has worked in schools across the region with universally good results."