AN English teacher who told a student 'we were worried you were going to die' weeks after the suicides of two pupils was not constructively dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Katie O'Hara worked as head of English at the private Windermere School until she resigned last year.

She claimed she had been treated detrimentally after raising concerns about the approach other teachers were taking towards the International Baccalaureate examinations.

The tribunal heard the school was 'profoundly' affected by the deaths of two students who took their own lives in 2019 and advice was given to teachers.

Concerns were raised about Ms O'Hara's behaviour following that advice.

The tribunal was told she had planned to teach the play Antigone, a Greek tragedy with themes of suicide, but was told not to by headteacher Ian Lavender.

In another incident mentioned, Ms O'Hara was said to have been alerted after a student viewed a website with a keyword that triggered a warning system put in place by the school and suicide prevention charity Papyrus.

The tribunal heard she entered a classroom to check on the student without acknowledging the teacher to ask if he was OK, saying similar words to 'we were worried you were going to die' while students could hear.

The student said he had been searching for Star Wars material online. 

Following the incident, the headteacher said in an email to the class teacher: "It is my expectation that [Ms O'Hara] does not come to school on Monday. If she does, I will send her away again."

He asked to be told of any further 'erratic behaviour'.

Ms O'Hara later took sick leave from work and was absent from work until she resigned.

She claimed she had left due to a bad working environment and said she had been treated detrimentally at meetings after previously raising concerns.

The teacher also took issue with a disciplinary investigation meeting she was invited to and alleged that another teacher attempted to pressurise her to leave so she could move into the head of department role.

She told the tribunal that Windermere School refused to give her full pay in the second six months of her absence, having had a mental health breakdown as a result of the school's treatment of her.

Ms O'Hara argued it meant a failure to make reasonable adjustments for her, and was discrimination relating to her disability.

The tribunal ruled that she was not subject to any detriments on the grounds that she made protected disclosures, was not discriminated against and was not constructively dismissed.