Teacher struck off over explicit texts to pupil
A TEACHER has been banned from working in education after bombarding a pupil with late-night messages begging for ‘fun sex.’
Craig Ward, who taught PE at Padgate Academy in Warrington, accepted he ‘crossed professional boundaries’ with the boy, who tried to get him to stop.
The 36-year-old also gave the boy lifts in his car without anyone else present and encouraged him to drink vodka.
Some of the texts were too explicit for publication, but others included ‘please come and sleep with me. I’ll keep it between me n u n it’ll le(sic)the bee (sic) night of ur life x.’
Other messages included ‘no one needs to know n u don’t have to worry about anyone finding out x I’m not looking for owt serious, just proper fun sex’ and ‘I’m home in a week if ur ok for trying stuff.’
Ward also told the boy ‘you know you can trust me.’
After an internal investigation by the school, the case was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), which has the power to ban teachers from the classroom.
Despite the graphic messages, Ward initially denied having any sexual interest in the boy, claiming to his employers he was ‘extremely drunk’ when he sent the messages.
However the TRA panel noted: “It is now the case, however, that Mr Ward admits his conduct was sexually motivated.”
Ward resigned in 2019, the day before he was due to attend a disciplinary hearing.
In a statement, the boy, referred to as Pupil A, said: “When I think about things that happened in school with Mr Ward, I can now see that he built a different relationship with me than with most other students.”
The panel heard the boy had sent a message clearly rejecting Ward’s advances, but he continued to send explicit messages.
The TRA stated: “It is clear to the panel that the manner in which Mr Ward fostered a relationship with Pupil A, sending messages containing explicit language, late at night and early in the morning enabled him to develop a relationship that was more akin to a friendship.”
The panel concluded that Ward intended to pursue a sexual relationship when the boy completed his studies.
It stated: “The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Ward fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.”