Panel agrees supply teacher’s messages ‘sexually motivated’
A SUPPLY teacher who taught at a Farnborough school has been handed an indefinite ban from classrooms.
The order comes after allegations of “sexually motivated” conduct with a pupil in 2020.
Police interviewed Alexander Johnson, 29, under caution and officers also spoke to a pupil, referred to in a report as Pupil A. No allegations were said to have been made by Pupil A and police took no further action against Mr Johnson.
Yet concerns were raised about the relationship Mr Johnson had with Pupil A by another teacher, according to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) report. Some other pupils and their parents also came forward to report concerns.
The 29-year-old was, however, suspended by Cove School and did not return to work. Headteacher Dr Andrew King responded to the TRA report into the matter and highlighted “rigorous” and “immediate” actions were taken. He also reiterated the safety of children as an “absolute priority”.
Mr Johnson admitted to more than 10 allegations made against him, including that he accepted a request and communicated with Pupil A on Snapchat after they said they “had a crush on him”.
He also admitted to having “communicated inappropriately with Pupil A” on the app outside of school and changed Pupil A’s name to that of his on/off sexual partner.
He later denied allegations that these actions were sexually motivated, but the report said the panel found this “proved in part”. It said: “It was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that when Mr Johnson first accepted a Snapchat friend request from Pupil A, he was sexually motivated”.
The report continued: “Thereafter, things moved quickly and Mr Johnson did start to act with sexual motivation”.
The panel was said to have inferred this from the fact Mr Johnson made a “direct connection” between Pupil A and a recent sexual partner he met on Tinder.
The report also stated Mr Johnson “failed to maintain proper professional boundaries and acted with a lack of integrity, in that he failed to adhere to the standards of the teaching profession”. It added that voice notes sent to
Pupil A at night telling them to “sleep well” also “demonstrated an intimacy which the panel concluded was sexually motivated”.
The report concluded: “In this case, the panel has found some of the allegations proven and found that those proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute”. It continued: “The panel has made a recommendation to the Secretary of State that Mr Alexander Johnson should be the subject of a prohibition order, with no provision for a review period”.
Dr King said: “The safety and wellbeing of all children is our absolute priority, and we have rigorous safeguarding processes in place to that effect, verified by all agencies involved in this case, including the police. We take safeguarding concerns extremely seriously and, as we have done on this occasion, would always act immediately to ensure the most appropriate course of action is taken.”
He added: “We always undertake careful pre-employment checks and we would not accept any agency placement for which we had concerns.
“While the individual concerned was employed by a supply agency for a short period of time and not directly by the school, our actions taken as a school were no less robust than they always would be.
“We worked as required with police and the local authority in relation to this matter and followed all required processes throughout, in accordance with the relevant safeguarding and child protection policies.”
The headteacher concluded: “We are reassured to see that the final outcome reached by the TRA reflects the seriousness of the individual’s conduct.”
Cove School is currently rated Good by Ofsted and is said to have “effective” and “high priority” safeguarding arrangements in place.
Inspectors found leaders carry out “thorough” checks before anybody is employed and the school is said to link well with outside agencies when needed.
The Ofsted report said: “Governors and staff are diligent in looking after their pupils. Staff keep careful records and follow up incidents appropriately”.
It added: “Pupils feel safe in this school. They know who to talk to if they have a problem and they get appropriate help when they need it”.