Lecturer is given reprimand over ‘ill-judged’ actions
A COLLEGE lecturer who offered to pay a student £100 to do some decorating at his home has been reprimanded by his profession.
Mark Jones, who taught the teenager on his introductory painting and decorating course, was also found by a fitness to practise committee to have repeatedly contacted her on his personal phone and given her gifts.
An Education Workforce Council panel found Mr Jones had behaved in an “inappropriate and unacceptable” manner towards the girl – known as Learner A – who was a student at Coleg Sir Gar in Ammanford.
The three-day hearing was told that Mr Jones offered the student £100 to do work at his home and also bought her a healing stone and a book on confidence.
The panel ruled Mr Jones had contacted the student several times using his personal mobile phone, had given her gifts and offered her paid decorating work at his home.
But they dismissed allegations he had shared personal information with her, invaded her personal space during a tutorial and offered to let her stay over in his spare bedroom while working at his home.
They also rejected allegations Mr Jones – who has since been dismissed by the college – had completed exam papers on behalf of Learner A and two other students.
Peter Owen, chairman of the panel, said the giving of gifts to the student was a “serious failing” by Mr Jones.
“These were personal items given as a gift to a single learner under a cloud of secrecy to at least some extent,” he said.
“Plainly this was not good practice and amounted to an individual learner being singled out for what could have certainly been perceived as preferential treatment.
“The concerns were compounded by the secrecy of Mr Jones’s conduct as so far as Mr Jones instructed Learner A not to disclose to other learners. This was unprofessional conduct to an extent that was unacceptable.”
Describing the offer of paid work at his home, Mr Owen said: “Mr Jones may well have been well intentioned in terms of his motivations; however, he was misguided and his actions were certainly illjudged.
“She may have interpreted the offer of being indicative of Mr Jones having an interest in her that went beyond the professional. By his actions he had exposed himself to accusations of improper conduct.”
Mr Owen said the panel found overall that Mr Jones’s behaviour amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
“The committee concluded Mr Jones behaved in a way that was inappropriate and unacceptable and his actions fell short of the standards expected of a registered person,” he said.
The committee imposed a reprimand on Mr Jones, which would be on his registration record for two years.
“Mr Jones’s actions did impact to some extent on Learner A, even though the evidence was limited, and the committee was unable to explore the extent of any impact with her,” Mr Owen said.
“Mr Jones’s conduct breached several conditions of the code.
“The committee’s findings were such as there was a pattern of conduct towards Learner A. Mr Jones’s behaviour was wrong and unacceptable and there were concerning elements to his conduct.
“The committee did not consider the conduct found proven was fundamentally incompatible with Mr Jones continuing to be a registered person.
“It considered his intentions were not improper, albeit his actions were illjudged.”
Coleg Sir Gar has approximately 10,000 learners predominately aged between 16 and 19 at higher and further education level.