Gloriavale teacher committed serious misconduct by striking student with vacuum pipe
A teacher who struck a 14-year-old student with a vacuum cleaner pipe after the teenager made an obnoxious remark has been censured for serious misconduct.
The New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found Malachi Faithful, a teacher at Gloriavale Christian School, engaged in serious misconduct over the 2013 incident.
Faithful was teaching an upstairs class in an old school building when he asked students to line up. After the 14-year-old student made what was described as “an obnoxious remark”, Faithful picked up a vacuum cleaner pipe and swung it, striking the student on the leg.
Faithful immediately apologised to the class, and the student suffered no lasting physical injury. The incident came to light in 2022 after the former student disclosed it to the Gloriavale Leavers Trust, leading to Faithful being suspended from teaching while police and school investigations took place.
Police charged Faithful with assault with a weapon in December 2022. He pleaded guilty in June 2023 and was granted a discharge without conviction by District Court Judge Callaghan in September 2023, after being ordered to pay $1,250 in emotional harm reparation, which he paid in full. He returned to teaching at Gloriavale in November 2023.
In a victim impact statement, the former student said the assault had caused him emotional damage and maintained Faithful should not be a teacher. Callaghan granted the discharge after considering that Faithful had apologised, had no other convictions, was described as a “valuable resource” by parents and students, and that a conviction would trigger a complete teaching ban under Gloriavale community policy.
The tribunal noted that cancellation of teacher registration was the starting point for serious misconduct involving physical force against a student. However, it decided to stop short of deregistration, finding Faithful’s actions were “an impulsive individual act of force in response to a student’s remark”, rather than a pattern shaped by institutional norms.
In its decision, the tribunal censured Faithful and placed conditions on his practising certificate. He must undergo a 12-month behaviour management and self-regulation programme under an approved mentor, complete classroom observations, engage in professional discussions with colleagues at other schools, and inform any prospective employer of the decision for two years.