A headteacher caught having a relaxing spa day when she was supposed to be working has swerved a ban.

Joanna Clark, headteacher at Blackhall Primary School between 2009 and 2021, admitted to visiting the Ramside Spa in 2020, when she was supposed to be at work.

She also failed to inform staff of her whereabouts or keep a record while she went for a swim at the spa some 18 miles from the Hartlepool .

The Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard how "there was a gradual deterioration in Mrs Clark's availability during her working hours" between January 2019 and November 2020.

The panel heard how, after returning to work following the summer break in September 2020, she was "rarely reachable", with another staff member remarking how Mrs Clark was not in on any Friday for 10 weeks.

The headteacher later admitted to working from home every Friday from September to October 2020. It was during this time she was spotted at the spa.

She told the panel she "went to have a swim, clear her head and then go back to her work" but "deeply regretted" it.

A misconduct investigation discovered that Mrs Clark visited the spa, near Durham, at least two other times during school hours.

A report by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel for the Department for Education (DfE) found that Mrs Clark's behaviour "fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession".

The TRA report looked into a number of misconduct allegations, with seven out of 22 proven against Mrs Clark by the panel. Some of the issues raised went as far back as 2012, but mostly were alleged to have happened between 2019 and 2020.

The report found Mrs Clark failed to perform sufficient DBS background checks on new staff and governors and keep records of checks. Moreover, the teacher failed to fix a broken fence in the playground, which allegedly allowed children to leave the school unnoticed.

The watchdog mulled over the idea of banning Mrs Clark from teaching but found there were "extensive mitigating factors". The report acknowledged "the difficult personal circumstances which Mrs Clark was facing" at the time.

But the panel found she had a "substantial number" of character references which referred to her "good character and teaching abilities".

It also found evidence to suggest her actions were accidental.

Moreover, the report mentioned Mrs Clark being "appalled I worked from home as much as I did", and adding she "did not recognise" herself.

Meanwhile, the secretary of state for education said there was a "strong public interest consideration" in keeping Ms Clark in the profession.

In the written decision, the minister said Mrs Clark had "demonstrated both insight and remorse" and completed safeguarding training.