Ramside Hall offers teacher free spa visit after one went on work day
Former Blackhall Primary School head Joanna Clark was spotted swimming at the five-star spa hotel during school hours while she claimed to be working from home, the Echo reported earlier this month.
Mrs Clark, head at the County Durham school between 2009 and 2021, admitted going to the spa to a misconduct hearing, and said “she went to have a swim, clear her head and then go back to her work” back in October 2020.
Now bosses at Ramside say they want to treat a deserving teacher to one of their twilight spa packages, which take place after school hours, for free.
It comes as they say their spa facilities “are perhaps too hard to resist” after Mrs Clark’s work-day visit.
Fay Pratt, spa director at Ramside Hall, said: “We don’t want anyone to get into trouble and visit during working hours.
“We know how hard teachers work and that a treat at a spa would be much appreciated.
“And, so we thought giving the winner our twilight package would be a great way for them to enjoy what Ramside Spa has to offer – without any worries.”
The hotel, situated just off the A690, is offering a teacher and plus one the chance to win an evening spa visit, from 5.30pm, including a 55-minute massage, full use of the spa, and a two-course meal at its Fusion Asian restaurant.
The teaching misconduct panel concluded Mrs Clark had gone for three spa sessions during work hours in total.
The teacher said she “deeply regretted” her decision.
The panel said her spa trips during school time amounted to “misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession”.
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It found her guilty of unacceptable professional conduct but decided against banning her from the classroom.
Facilities at Ramside include five pools, a thermal suite, treatment rooms, and sleep sanctuary.
Anyone who wants to nominate a teacher, including themselves, can email enquiries@ramsidespa.co.uk putting ‘teacher’ in the subject line with a brief explanation as to why they’d like to visit.