A highly-regarded music teacher embroiled in a bitter row with a leading private school was sacked after she sent her pupils ‘overly-affectionate’ emails, a tribunal has heard.
Jo Nicholls told pupils at the £20,000 a year all-girls school they were her ‘favourite’ and that they had a ‘special bond’, a hearing was told.
‘Inspirational and quite exceptional’ Ms Nicholls, who once won a Classic FM competition, also stole sheet music from Putney High School in London to ‘sabotage’ an upcoming concert.
The Putney High assistant director of music, who served the school for 33 years, had fallen out with bosses over a series of disputes to such an extent the relationship was deemed ‘irretrievable’, the tribunal heard.
She was initially dismissed for gross misconduct and was due to serve out her notice.
But she was then fired immediately when during her notice period she sent the ‘highly inappropriate’ emails directly to four girls, telling them ‘you know I care about you’ and criticising the school.
The highly-praised but ‘difficult to manage’ teacher tried to sue the school for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.
Ms Nicholls had been a teacher at Putney High School (pictured) for 33 years when she was sacked following a series of clashes with management. She was dismissed without notice after ‘totally inappropriate’ emails sent to students came to light
But she has lost her case with the tribunal criticising her for ‘blurring the boundary between teacher and student’ with her emails.
The hearing in Croydon, south London, was told Ms Nicholls worked at Putney High from September 1986 and was ‘held in the highest regard by a very many parents, students and colleagues’ and had a ‘quite astonishing number of testimonials’.
Employment Judge Daniel Dyal said of her: ‘In short, we are left in no doubt that, whatever else, she was widely regarded as an inspirational and quite exceptional teacher.
‘She was the sort of teacher that many students would remember fondly for the rest of their lives.
‘She herself had a very keen sense of this status – including during her employment.
‘She knew that she was extremely valuable to the school and understood that this gave her a certain amount of security and indeed leverage over management.
‘At times it gave her the confidence to do things her own way rather than the school’s way because she felt sufficiently confident in her position that she could ride-out any ‘push-back’.
‘We have no doubt that Ms Nicholls was at times very difficult to manage. She could be utterly single-minded. She was prepared to go to disproportionate and unusual lengths to get her way on matters even where, objectively speaking, the matter was a fairly minor one.
‘She an employee with significant gravitas, standing and leverage well beyond her position in the formal hierarchy.
‘She was widely regarded as someone who was not to be crossed by either peers or managers.’
The tribunal heard Ms Nicholls repeatedly clashed with director of finance and operations, Alistair Gray, who had a military background.
Mr Gray gave Ms Nicholls public dressing downs in front of pupils, told her off for not wearing a lanyard, and castigated her for leaving a small salt shaker and crockery on her desk.
Mr Gray was the subject of a number of complaints from staff but escaped disciplinary action as the school was ‘lenient’ to him, it was heard.
Tensions between Mr Gray and Ms Nicholls came to a head in July 2018 when he ‘chased’ her down stairs after she told him she would ‘get rid’ of him.
Ms Nicholls’ relationship with the school soured over her running of its school trips and she was called to a disciplinary hearing in September 2019 on three allegations.
She was accused of breaching safeguarding rules by giving pupils private piano lessons at her home – despite putting on private lessons for years and being open with the school about it.
She was also accused of substituting in her daughter to take a flute exam when a pupil couldn’t and over invoice discrepancies relating to a pupil’s lessons with her.
Judge Dyal did not view these allegations as serious but the school ‘treated (them) with the utmost seriousness’ and she was fired for gross misconduct but allowed to serve her notice.
However, in October 2019 she sent inappropriate emails and took home important sheet music, to ‘disrupt’ a show and ‘sabotage’ it.
The tribunal report said: ‘Having been notified of dismissal, she took home a large amount of sheet music from her office.
‘This was music that was needed for various choirs due to sing at open day events scheduled for the following week.’
In one email to two students – who can’t be named – she said: ‘I want you both to know that I will not let the school destroy the relationship I have built up with you or others I feel close to.
‘Please don’t try to cover for me… The school have made this mess and there will be knock on effects.
‘Keep thoughts in your head that that are definitely more nice people than nasty people in the world. Putney High is full of so many nice kids, and you two are two of the best of these – though not really kids any more.’
In one to another pupil, she said: ‘I am sorry about what has happened from the bottom of my heart. You’re the only one in your year who knows at the moment.
‘You know I care about you and we have a special bond.’
And to another student she wrote: ‘I’m ok, but am really quite sad and I am already missing all of you – well not all of the whole school, but the special ones.
‘A big hug you and the other special people; you’ll know who they are. Miss Nicholls xx’
Following the ‘deeply concerning emails’ she was fired without notice.
At the tribunal, Ms Nicholls claimed she was unfairly dismissed and that her treatment over the years amounted to sex discrimination and harassment.
However, the panel dismissed her claims.
Judge Dyal said: ‘The emails with students were totally inappropriate in parts and indeed evidenced a blurring of boundaries that must exist between teachers and pupils.
‘It is not appropriate for a teacher to openly designate certain pupils as their favourites, or to tell the students that they have a special relationship with them or to sign emails with kisses.
‘Taking the sheet music was, and was understood to be, a calculated effort to make life difficult for [the school] by sabotaging the musical performances at the open days.
‘Although she had significant mitigation for her conduct, on the facts of this case in our view it does not take dismissal outside of the band of reasonable responses.
‘The conduct was and remained extremely serious.’
Ms Nicholls brought claims against The Girls’ Day School Trust, which runs the school, and Mr Gray, but lost against both.
Ms Nicholls, whose daughters both went to Putney High, now runs a music centre for children in Wimbledon, London.
