Teacher told pupil he’d like to see her sunbathe topless
40-YEAR-OLD MAN STRUCK OFF AFTER GIRL’S FATHER DISCOVERS MESSAGES
A MATHS teacher who said he wanted to see a female pupil sunbathe topless has been banned from the classroom.
Geoffrey Nuttall, a former teacher at Canon Slade School in Bolton, was struck off following an educational misconduct hearing.
Mr Nuttall, who was a teacher at the school since 2002 before resigning two years ago, was found to have contacted the girl on Facebook, Whatsapp, email and via text message.
He accepted his behaviour showed a ‘lack of judgement’ but denied it was sexually motivated, a claim the panel agreed with.
The panel ruled that Mr Nuttall’s actions were ‘motivated by a misplaced desire’ to help the girl, which represented a breach of trust.
In messages on Facebook, the girl said she would look ‘hideous’ in a bikini.
In reply Mr Nuttall, 40, said: “Well go topless then, no one’ll notice.”
After saying no one would want to see her in a bikini, Mr Nuttall replied: “I would.”
Another message Mr Nuttall sent to the girl said: “Rubbish although I’d prefer you in just bikini bottoms :)”
Mr Nuttall said he wanted to reassure the girl about her body image and that he did not want her to think that she was being rejected.
He accepted that he had communicated with the girl from March 2014 via the school email system, and sent messages on social media in May that year.
There was further contact on Facebook on at least one occasion in August 2015, and in March last year, when Mr Nuttall knew the girl was a child.
In May 2014, the girl’s parents discovered that Mr Nuttall had been sending their daughter messages, and reported it to the school.
He was interviewed by the police shortly afterwards but no action was taken.
According to the report by the National College for Teaching and Leadership, the girl’s father said at first he believed the messages were innocuous and that Mr Nuttall was trying to help boost her confidence.
But the father said he was alarmed when discovering the messages about topless sunbathing.
In February 2015 the school conducted an internal investigation, and Mr Nuttall resigned.
The report also stated that Mr Nuttall was an otherwise ‘passionate’ teacher who wanted to help pupils with their learning.
Mr Nuttall was made subject of a prohibition order, preventing him from teaching indefinitely.
He may apply for a review of the order in two years.
A report by panel member Alan Meyrick, on behalf of the Education Secretary, states: “He (Mr Nuttall) acted beyond his capabilities and demonstrated a disregard of the school’s policies and procedures.
“He showed poor judgement and this led to him breaching his position of trust and transgressing the appropriate professional boundaries between teachers and pupils.”