THE former deputy head teacher of a Pontypool primary school has appeared before a committee accused of "serious professional incompetence".

Cerys Hands, who taught at Victoria Primary School in Abersychan, faces 10 separate allegations in that she failed to achieve the required standard of performance on a sustained basis during the period from January 2012 to April 30 of this year.

She appeared before a professional competence committee hearing of the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW), at the Parc Hotel in Cardiff today. The hearing is scheduled to last until tomorrow.

The committee heard how other teachers at the school had to fill in "large gaps of learning" for some pupils under Mrs Hands' care because of her failure to cover the full curriculum.

Other allegations claim Mrs Hands "failed consistently to deliver lessons that were rated good" and did not mark pupils' work regularly.

Some allegations claim Mrs Hands did not complete planning work, failed to maintain adequate displays, and failed to set revised targets where appropriate.

These allegations, according to presenting officer Emma Burns, constitute "serious professional incompetence meaning demonstrating a level of competence which falls seriously short of that expected of a registered teacher".

Proceeding.