Gemma Laird fired from school after parents spot her modelling lingerie in photographs

March 27, 2016 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News

Gemma Laird says she was told school did not want pupils ‘thinking it is acceptable to be a model’
She was sacked after less than a week at primary school in County Durham
The 21-year-old’s modelling photos were discovered on her Facebook
Mother of one said she told school about modelling career before starting

Izzy Ferris For The Daily Mail

Published:
17:59 EST, 25 March 2016

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Updated:
18:30 EST, 25 March 2016

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A teaching assistant has been sacked by a primary school after parents discovered photographs of her modelling underwear.

Gemma Laird, 21, says she was told the school did not want pupils ‘thinking it is acceptable to be a model’.

She was sacked after less than a week in the job at Bloemfontein Primary School in Craghead, County Durham, where she worked with pupils aged five and six.

Miss Laird, who has a four-year-old daughter, Zofia, said: ‘After a week, I got called into the office and the headmistress said, “I don’t want to have this conversation with you but I have to”.

Gemma Laird, 21, says she was told the school did not want pupils ‘thinking it is acceptable to be a model’

She was sacked after less than a week in the job at Bloemfontein Primary School in Craghead, County Durham, where she worked with pupils aged five and six

‘She sat me down and said somebody had been on my Facebook page and discovered that I was doing modelling work.

‘They had reported me for it. I was told that they didn’t want to damage the school’s reputation and that people would lose respect for the school if they found out I was a model.

‘She said she doesn’t want her year-six pupils thinking it is acceptable to be a model.

‘She made me feel dirty and like I was a prostitute. It’s ridiculous.

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‘When I started out they said I was a natural with the kids. They loved me. It was hard, but I felt like I was doing well.’

Miss Laird had been offered the job as an apprentice teaching assistant, with pay of about £150 a week, after passing an exam and beating seven candidates in an interview.

She said she had told the school about her modelling, which had paid £120 a day, and her social media accounts were set to private. Since being sacked on March 3 she has returned to modelling.

Gemma Laird, 21, from Durham, with daughter Zofia, 4. Miss Laird had been offered the job as an apprentice teaching assistant after passing an exam and beating seven candidates in an interview

Miss Laird, who lives with her boyfriend, 33-year-old former footballer Alex Williams, said: ‘It’s simply not fair. I was made to feel that I wasn’t good enough for the job when I’m just as good as anybody else.

‘I wanted to make something of myself and go into a stable career so I can support my daughter, but it just feels as though I’ve been completely shot down. I’m gutted, to be honest. I would love to try for another job in teaching but what if this happens again?’

She said she was considering legal action against the school, which was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

Employment law expert Edward Cooper, of Slater and Gordon, said: ‘It seems very harsh. She had disclosed it to the school before she started and they just changed their minds under parental pressure.’

He said that she had not been at the school long enough to be able to claim unfair dismissal.

Headmistress Laura Liddell said: ‘Members of staff and those on apprenticeship placement in school are expected to adhere to certain standards of behaviour, including in relation to their use of social media, and to set a good example to pupils.

‘It was brought to our attention that images which were not appropriate and which did not comply with our expected standards had been posted on social media by a newly appointed apprentice.

‘Unfortunately, we felt that we had no choice but to bring the placement to an end.’

Jon Richards, head of education at the Unison union, said employees should be judged on their ability to do their jobs. Durham County Council declined to comment.