School inspector sacked for wiping rain off child's face.wins unfair dismissal case

A former Ofsted inspector sacked for brushing water off a child’s head was unfairly dismissed, the Court of Appeal has found.

- BRYONY GOOCH

Andrew Hewston faced a disciplinary panel and was sacked in 2019 after he approached a student who had been drenched with rain and expressed his sympathy, wiping water off his forehead during a school inspection.

Following a disciplinary procedure, the watchdog said they felt Mr Hewston was unable to “maintain the professional boundaries” and hadn’t recognised his “error”, despite him saying he would never do it again. An employment appeal tribunal verdict in 2023 ruled that Mr Hewston had been unfairly dismissed, which Ofsted had attempted to overturn through a Court of Appeal hearing last autumn.