Teacher bought alcoholic drinks for pupils at pub and drove them to pick up pizza

A teacher who bought alcoholic drinks for pupils at a pub and drove students to pick up a pizza during school hours has been struck off.

The male PE teacher, referred to only as Teacher A in the General Teaching Council ruling, was employed at a Renfrewshire secondary school when the incidents occurred between August 2021 and August 2022.

It had been alleged the teacher had hugged three pupils on unknown dates and had given one of those students a card in April 2022, which was signed ‘Love [Redacted], xx’.

The allegations further stated the teacher sent text messages to pupils on his personal mobile phone, which were unrelated to school and sent after school hours.

The teacher also sent a message to the pupil he gave a card to, offering to meet them outside of school.

The allegations further stated the teacher sent a Facebook friend request to this pupil, as well as the two others he had previously hugged.

The General Teaching Council also heard the man drove pupils in his car to pick up a pizza during school hours.

Finally, it was alleged that the teacher had purchased alcoholic drinks for a fourth pupil and her friends at The Lane pub in April 2022.

The teacher admitted to all of the allegations and sought to be removed from the register. The panel felt that, in his own view, he was currently unfit to teach.

‘Blurred boundaries’

The General Teaching Council heard police launched an investigation into the teacher’s conduct, and while he was charged with criminal offences, the Crown had not pursued any criminal proceedings against him.

The watchdog found the teacher’s actions amounted to the abuse of a position of trust, forming inappropriate relationships with pupils/young people and sexual misconduct.

It also raised concerns the teacher’s behaviour may have continued had it not been stopped in April 2022.

It was found the teacher had “continually blurred boundaries” between himself and pupils, and failed to engage with counselling and support offered to him.

The General Teaching Council also felt an email sent by the teacher on his view of the incidents was “superficial, lacked real insight into his behaviour” and to some extent “minimised the seriousness of his behaviour”.

The panel concluded the teacher’s lack of insight showed a “real risk” the conduct could occur again.

As a result, the teacher was struck from the register and banned from reapplying for two years.