A supply teacher under investigation continued working with pupils despite being told not to do so. Ceyhan Unluer claimed she was safeguarding her "family's basic survival" when she decided to disregard an order to stop teaching while under scrutiny by local authority education officers.
The 45-year-old, who had been contracted to work as a supply teacher in St Helens through an agency, failed to inform a second recruitment firm she was subject to an education investigation into her behaviour. As a result, she undertook work at five schools across Merseyside and Cheshire, including a Liverpool special educational needs location over four days.
A Teacher Regulation Agency hearing was told how Ms Unluer acknowledged she had "got caught" but had taken the "moral decision" to disregard the instruction to step back. She has now been barred from the profession for a minimum of four years.
Ms Unluer was contracted to work at Willow Bank School in St Helens through Tradewind Recruitment from June 2023. Ms Unluer was also contracted to work as a supply teacher at St Margaret Church of England, Warrington, Holy Cross Primary School, St Helens, Redbridge High School in Fazakerley, Penketh Primary School and Woolston Brook, Warrington, through Connex Education agency from October of the same year.
A report into the hearing held in private detailed how an individual known only as Witness B said there had been a referral regarding “concerns” about Ms Unluer in November 2023. In a subsequent meeting, the supply teacher was advised by Tradewind Recruitment that she was not to work with children while the investigation process was underway, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Another individual, Witness E, told panel members how it was discovered in January 2024 the teacher had continued to work with an alternative agency over a two-week period and had not informed them about the local authority investigation. It was said Ms Unluer told a man known as Witness D she “got caught” working in a school against the recommendation of the local authority designated officer (LADO) and it was a “moral choice” to work over the recommendation.
A fourth individual, Witness C, said Tradewind Recruitment first became aware of the investigation by the LADO following direct contact from council officials on November 14, 2023. At this time, Ms Unluer was working at Willow Bank School, who were also informed and her contract was terminated with instructions for her not to return.
Witness C said she told Ms Unluer a week later she would not be offered any work by Tradewind Recruitment until the LADO process had concluded and that if she were to apply elsewhere for work, then she would have to disclose the investigation. However in February 2024, Ms Unluer revealed to her that she had been working with another agency from November 2023 to January 2024.
Witness A told the hearing how Connex Education received a call from Woolston Brook on or around 30 January 2024 stating that they had “received an anonymous email” stating that Ms Unluer was “unsuitable to work with children” and that she was “under a LADO investigation". In subsequent assessments with Ms Unluer, the Liverpool John Moores University graduate said she did not think she needed to tell the agency as she had appealed against the decision.
It was said the 45-year-old thought “the matter was over and that she panicked and went into survival mode, hence her lack of judgment regarding informing Connex Education of her situation”. In an email to the TRA’s presenting officer last August, Ms Unluer admitted she had been instructed by the LADO to stop working during the investigation period.
She added: “I accept responsibility for continuing to work during that time, but I did so out of necessity. I made a difficult decision to prioritise my family’s basic survival.”
The panel considered that Ms Unluer had “adequate opportunity” to notify Connex Education but did not do so. As a professional and a teacher, officials considered that Ms Unluer was expected to make her agency aware of these circumstances as they were relevant to her ongoing suitability to teach and safeguard children.
Email correspondence from Witness C also indicated that she asked Ms Unluer if she had been working for other schools during the LADO investigation and she had denied it. This was not true.
In a further email to the presenting officer in August 2025, Ms Unluer said she accepted responsibility for working during the suspension period but had done so “out of necessity”. The former teacher claimed to have had “no financial support” and had “made a difficult decision to prioritise my family’s basic survival”.
Panel members said they felt Ms Unluer’s conduct had been “serious and deliberate” and recommended a four-year review period be put in place to reflect this. This means she is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She may appeal in 2030.
