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Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Teacher caught having sex with pupil in car writes kid's book on 'bad choices'
Eppie Sprung, from Scotland, was struck off the teaching register for sleeping with a student. Now, she is writing a book which states 'making bad choices doesn't make you a bad person' A former teacher who was caught having sex with a male pupil in her car has written a children's book to help other parents tell their kids about something they did wrong in the past. Eppie Sprung, from Scotland, was banned from teaching after she carried out the sickening crime with a dyslexic teenager, aged 17. The married educator, who worked at St Joseph's College in Dumfries, had agreed to give the boy additional lessons. She was busted for having an affair after she was spotted half-naked with him in a layby. She was placed onto the sex offenders register with a six-month community payback order after she pleaded guilty to a breach of trust. Now, she is hoping to use her experience to build communication between parents and their kids. The slogan of her book states: "You and I know that making bad choices doesn't make you a bad person." The story centres around a conversation between two bears (a parent and a child), in which the parent tells the child about choices from their past that are still impacting on their lives today. The child asks questions and the parent answers as best they can. In a recent blog post titled: "Not a Monster, a Mum", Sprung confirmed that she was motivated to write the book before having own children, reports Daily Record. She said: "One day, they're going to learn to type things into internet search engines and they're going see my name emblazoned across tabloids - Eppie Sprung: Sex Offender. I realised that I was going to have to handle talking to my children about my conviction very carefully. So, I put pen to paper and 'Here, with you' is my attempt to fill that gap." Back in 2012 officers spotted the married teacher, who was 26 at the time, parked in a layby with the pupil after noticing condensations on her car windows. She split from her husband of two years after the incident and the pupil moved in with her. Their relationship came to an end in 2015. Sprung has since attempted to share messages of remorse and rehabilitation, including starting a charity for ex-offenders called 'Next Chaper Scotland'. Her book release comes just months after she sparked controversy for whining about the 'stigma' surrounding her conviction in a call-in to BBC Radio One. The mother-of-two, who has since remarried, complained about the judgement she faces due to living with a criminal record and told how she doesn't "get invited to kids parties". She previously said she found it difficult to move on with her life and said media coverage of the case meant potential employers were "concerned I bring with me a reputational risk". She added: "Everybody knew who I was." Sprung said a bar owner "took a punt on me" after her conviction. She was later offered a job at a charity before setting up Next Chapter Scotland. The venture was handed thousands from the public purse through a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, which she says will help those with criminal records 'navigate discrimination'.
Edinburgh Live
27-05-2025
- Edinburgh Live
Immoral Scottish teacher 'caught with pupil in her car' makes career change
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A Scottish teacher who was added to the sex offenders register for involvement with a male pupil has written a children's book. Eppie Sprung was struck off the register after she admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old boy in 2012. The married teacher had agreed to give the dyslexic teenager extra lessons while working at St Joseph's College in Dumfries, before she was caught half naked in a layby with him after a Christmas dance. After pleading guilty to a breach of trust over the affair, she was added to the sex offenders register with a six-month community payback order, reports the Record. Sprung, 39, has now penned a book called Here, with you, aimed at "helping families discuss parental criminal convictions". In a bid to help parents to share their past with their kids, the book uses the slogan: "You and I know that making bad choices doesn't make you a bad person" as the story centres around a conversation between two bears (a parent and a child), in which the parent tells the child about choices from their past that are still impacting on their lives today. The child asks questions and the parent answers as best they can. In a recent blog post titled: "Not a Monster, a Mum", Sprung confirmed that she was motivated to write the book before having own children. She said: "One day, they're going to learn to type things into internet search engines and they're going see my name emblazoned across tabloids - Eppie Sprung: Sex Offender. "I realised that I was going to have to handle talking to my children about my conviction very carefully. "So, I put pen to paper and 'Here, with you' is my attempt to fill that gap." Back in 2012 officers spotted the married teacher, who was 26 at the time, parked in a layby with the pupil after noticing condensations on her car windows. She split from her husband of two years after the incident and the pupil moved in with her. Their relationship came to an end in 2015. Sprung has since attempted to share messages of remorse and rehabilitation, including starting a charity for ex-offenders called 'Next Chaper Scotland'. Her book release comes just months after she sparked controversy for whining about the 'stigma' surrounding her conviction in a call-in to BBC Radio One. The mother-of-two, who has since remarried, complained about the judgement she faces due to living with a criminal record and told how she doesn't "get invited to kids parties". Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. She previously said she found it difficult to move on with her life and said media coverage of the case meant potential employers were "concerned I bring with me a reputational risk". She added: "Everybody knew who I was." Sprung said a bar owner "took a punt on me" after her conviction. She was later offered a job at a charity before setting up Next Chapter Scotland. The venture was handed thousands from the public purse through a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, which she says will help those with criminal records 'navigate discrimination'. The Record contacted Eppie Sprung for comment.
Scottish Sun
27-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Shamed teacher caught romping with Scots school pupil pens children's book about past mistakes
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TEACHER who was struck off for having sex with a male pupil has written a children's book about past mistakes. Eppie Sprung was caught romping with the 17-year-old in a layby in 2012. 4 Eppie Sprung was caught having sex with a pupil in a layby in 2012 Credit: John Gunion - The Sun Glasgow 4 She was added to the sex offenders register and lost her job as a teacher Credit: Steve Welsh - The Sun Glasgow 4 She has now written a children's book about how parents can explain their convictions to their kids Credit: Next Chapter Scotland They were caught by cops after another pupil saw them leaving a school dance together. After being found half-naked with the pupil, Sprung pleaded guilty and was added to handed a six-month community payback order and was added to the sex offenders register. The shamed Miss also lost her job at St Joseph's College in Dumfries after she was struck off. The disgraced ex-teacher has now penned a children's book to help parents talk about their criminal past and convictions with their kids. Sprung has published 'Here, with you', which is about two bears. In it the adult bear has to tell the child bear about the bad choices which will still impact their life. The front cover features and adult and child bear sitting in a boat while holding a lantern. In a blog post, she told how she feared her shameful crime will impact her kids, and how they will inevitably find out about her sex offender status. The post, titled "Not a Monster, Mum", read: "Their friends are going to talk about it behind their backs. "People are going to ostracise them. They'll probably question who I really am and whether the feelings of safety I instil in them are actually some sort of lie. Society will tell them I'm a monster. "The long, long shadow of the poor choices I made back then will likely continue to impact on my children long into adulthood." Female teacher, 27, had 'sex with student in classroom' hours before arrest as '8-month relationship' exposed It added: "I realised, long before my daughter was even conceived, that I was going to have to handle talking to my children about my conviction very carefully." She went on to say: "The very first thing I did was look for story books that would help me to have this conversation. "I wanted to find a book that would let me draw parallels with the characters and provide me with some age-appropriate language. (Don't even get me started on how on earth you find the age-appropriate words to tell a 4-year-old that you were caught having sex in a car!) "I found wonderful books aimed at children with a parent in prison and books for children who have seen a parent be arrested but nothing that suited my circumstances. "So, I put pen to paper and 'Here, with you' is my attempt to fill that gap. "The story centres around the conversation between two bears (a parent and a child), in which the parent tells the child about choices from their past that are still impacting on their lives today. The child asks questions and the parent answers as best they can." Radio moan Last year, Sprung called into BBC Radio Scotland to whinge about the "stigma She said: "I have a conviction for a sexual offence. I was a teacher and I had an affair with a 17-year-old pupil. "So I do have experience of, kind of, living with the challenges that a person can face as a result of having a criminal record. "I never experienced a custodial sentence, but I certainly did experience stigma. "I mean, I had an exceptionally large amount of press coverage, media coverage, for many, many years following my conviction. "And I think I would say that was the most difficult thing I experienced. "But I mean, of course, as with people with a conviction for a sexual offence particularly, face the highest degree of stigma. "And so things like employment, even things like not being invited to my daughter's friends' birthday parties." We told how Sprung secured £7,000 of public funding to set up a new venture in 2023. She started Next Chapter Scotland, a website aiming to support people with criminal records. Sprung was handed a six-month community payback order after admitting to breach of trust in court in 2013. She was found unfit to teach by a disciplinary panel, consenting to be removed from the register for a minimum of two years. Sprung later divorced her husband and moved in with the pupil before they split up in 2015. She also underwent a compulsory course of psycho-sexual counselling.
Daily Record
27-05-2025
- Daily Record
Sex shame teacher caught romping with pupil in her car pens children's book
Eppie Sprung has now a published a children's book about past mistakes in another attempt to rewrite her history. A sex shame teacher who was caught romping with a male pupil in her car has written a children's book. Eppie Sprung was struck off the register after she admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old boy in 2012. The married English teacher had agreed to give the dyslexic teenager extra lessons while working at St Joseph's College in Dumfries, before she was caught half naked in a layby with him after a Christmas dance. After pleading guilty to a breach of trust over the affair, she was added to the sex offenders register with a six-month community payback order. Sprung, 39, has now penned a book called Here, with you, aimed at "helping families discuss parental criminal convictions". In a bid to help parents to share their past with their kids, the book uses the slogan: "You and I know that making bad choices doesn't make you a bad person" as the story centres around a conversation between two bears (a parent and a child), in which the parent tells the child about choices from their past that are still impacting on their lives today. The child asks questions and the parent answers as best they can. In a recent blog post titled: "Not a Monster, a Mum", Sprung confirmed that she was motivated to write the book before having own children. She said: "One day, they're going to learn to type things into internet search engines and they're going see my name emblazoned across tabloids - Eppie Sprung: Sex Offender. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "I realised that I was going to have to handle talking to my children about my conviction very carefully. "So, I put pen to paper and 'Here, with you' is my attempt to fill that gap." Back in 2012 o fficers spotted the married teacher, who was 26 at the time, parked in a layby with the pupil after noticing condensations on her car windows. She split from her husband of two years after the incident and the pupil moved in with her. Their relationship came to an end in 2015. Sprung has since attempted to share messages of remorse and rehabilitation, including starting a charity for ex-offenders called 'Next Chaper Scotland'. Her book release comes just months after she sparked controversy for whining about the 'stigma' surrounding her conviction in a call-in to BBC Radio One. The mother-of-two, who has since remarried, complained about the judgement she faces due to living with a criminal record and told how she doesn't "get invited to kids parties". She previously said she found it difficult to move on with her life and said media coverage of the case meant potential employers were "concerned I bring with me a reputational risk". She added: "Everybody knew who I was." Sprung said a bar owner "took a punt on me" after her conviction. She was later offered a job at a charity before setting up Next Chapter Scotland. The venture was handed thousands from the public purse through a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, which she says will help those with criminal records 'navigate discrimination'.
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Budget 2025: Nervous Wait For Thousands Of Public Service Workers
Press Release – PSA Cost to New Zealand women of pay equity betrayal to become clear Tomorrow's Budget will lift the lid on how much further public services will be cut and expose the cost to underpaid women from the dismantling of the pay equity process. 'Public services including our cash strapped health system cannot afford to face further cuts and job losses,' said Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons. 'More than 150,000 women have been denied the pay rise they deserve from this disappointing decision to gut our pay equity laws with no prior notice before the election or even a Select Committee process so that New Zealand women could have their say. Tomorrow's Budget will make the scale of the cost to women clear. 'We sadly predict Government will be starving many public service agencies and our health system of funds, just as they did last year, and that means further damage to the services New Zealanders rely on. 'And we will see how the 'billions of dollars' set aside to fund pay equity settlements for underpaid women, will be freed up to fund the Government's tax cuts for landlords and make the Budget numbers add up. 'This will be a mean and nasty Budget, built on taking money from care and support workers and others who had been expecting pay equity settlements before the goal posts were shifted, existing claims scrapped, all under urgency, and without a chance for their voice to be heard. 'We call on the Government to reverse all cuts to public services, fund our health system properly and put changes to pay equity laws through a proper select committee process. 'In health, the effective hiring freeze for clinical roles is putting patient care at risk, leaving health workers over worked, stressed and facing increasing risk from angry patients poorly served by the system. 'Every day we see the price New Zealanders and communities are paying for the Government's short-sighted and rushed cuts to spending. 'Just look at last week's damning report by the Auditor-General into Oranga Tamariki. Savings demanded by the Government meant the agency cut funding to hundreds of community service provider contracts, with little notice, without regard to the harm inflicted on the vulnerable children they support. 'We have a meth crisis in this country – the Government slashed resources for border protection, which has only made that problem far worse. 'New Zealanders can't afford any further cuts to public services. Too much damage has already been done.'
