Teacher banned for sexually inappropriate behaviour

A teacher has been indefinitely banned from the profession, after his behaviour was judged to be that of someone "in the early stages of pursuing inappropriate sexual relationships with pupils".

Karl Smith had been head of computing at The Warriner School, in Bloxham, when the inappropriate behaviour took place.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found Mr Smith privately messaged a female student outside of school, whilst also hugging her and another student during separate incidents.

It was also found that the former teacher had told another female student that it was "good it's non-school uniform-day" as people could "see how beautiful you really are".

Concerns were first raised by a pupil about Mr Smith in November 2022, with the school launching an investigation and suspending the teacher - before referring the case to the TRA.

A TRA panel found Mr Smith had established a private messaging channel and shared his personal contact details with a female pupil he knew to be vulnerable.

In the messages, the then-teacher referenced his "dashing good looks", said he was "pretty damn lonely", and told the pupil: "Maybe I'm just a sucker for a pretty face."

He later told the student to delete the messages exchanged between the pair.

Mr Smith was also found to have called a pupil "beautiful" in a separate incident - which the student told the school investigation had been "creepy and more than a normal compliment to come from a teacher".

The TRA panel's judgement found that Mr Smith's actions "had many of the hallmarks of someone in the early stages of pursuing inappropriate sexual relationships with pupils".

In prohibiting him from teaching in England, the judgement said: "The panel considered Mr Smith's conduct was not minor in nature, or a mere temporary lapse. It was a sustained course of action."

The former-teacher, in a statement to the panel, said: "Even though I was not in my right mind at the time, it was still wrong and should never had happened."

"I deeply regret my part in all of this, not just because it has destroyed me mentally, but because of the impact that my actions have had on the young people affected."

In a statement, The Warriner School said it "takes all safeguarding extremely seriously, with the safety of our students our priority".

"As soon as this was brought to our attention, we took swift action, seeking and following the advice of the Local Authority Designated Officer for Safeguarding and the police," the school said, adding that it had engaged with the TRA process "throughout".

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.