A primary school teacher could be struck off after offending parents and pupils with a video he made for his painting degree.
Adrian Eaton was studying for an honours degree in painting with the Barnsley-based Open College of Arts (OCA) while teaching at several primaries in the Inverness area.
As part of degree he made a video in 2015 showcasing his artwork under the controversial project entitled Treasures of Insomnia.
As a result, Mr Eaton, 52, is due to appear before a disciplinary hearing of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) next week.
According to the GTCS, images included a sketch of someone holding a gun to another character’s head with the words “Cartoon kills off parents stupidity. Teach your own kids.”
Mr Eaton had been juggling the open learning course with his role as a Science, Technology, Music and Art teacher – travelling to around eight primary schools per week in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.
The charges, which relate to dates between October 2015 and February 2016, state that: On or around 8 November 2015, at exact location unknown, upload to your personal YouTube account and make publicly accessible on the internet, without restriction, a video entitled “Treasures of Insomnia”, which contained images and text that were explicitly sexual, violent or discriminatory and commented negatively on your work as a teacher.
The GTCS charges state that this was “inappropriate for children, and was uploaded at a time when you had recently directed pupils to your YouTube account to view another video and there was therefore a significant risk that they would see ‘Treasures of Insomnia’.”
A second charge stated that despite being aware that parents and pupils had found the video “distressing, inappropriate and offensive”, Mr Eaton took more than three weeks to remove it from YouTube.
On an online funding page, he appears to confirm that he had been sacked by Highland Council.
He wrote: “My dismissal is viewed as contentious by my trade union and believe the appeal is strong.
“It is a very dark time but we are pulling together to maintain the status quo until, hopefully, a settlement in my favour result.
“In the meantime I am unable to continue my BA(hons) Painting with the Open College of the Arts.”
Yesterday, a woman believed to be Mr Eaton’s wife said he would not be commenting.
The two day hearing begins next Monday in front of the GTCS panel in Edinburgh.
Gareth Dent, principal of the Open College of the Arts, said: “I think my observation is that it is unfortunate that the climate these days is such that artistic expression can cause people disapproval in their profession.”
A spokeswoman for Highland Council yesterday confirmed that Mr Eaton no longer worked for them.
