Music teacher banned for life after inappropriate behaviour towards a pupil at school near Shropshire
A former music teacher at a school near Shropshire has been banned from the profession for life after a misconduct panel heard details of his inappropriate behaviour towards a pupil.
James Wall was music director at the private Lucton School near the south Shropshire/Herefordshire border from 2013 until he resigned in 2022 after he was accused of unacceptable professional conduct towards a female pupil.
At a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency last month, the tribunal heard that Wall was accused of sending private messages of a "sexual nature" to the pupil, asking to follow her on Instagram, requesting pictures of her and touching her "inappropriately".
The panel found the 35-year-old had also asked the pupil to delete messages, which the tribunal described as "dishonest and lacking integrity".
The hearing heard that during an interview with the school Wall had described messages, that were personal and of a sexual nature, as "banter" and a "grey area".
He also described as "unintentional" his touching of the girl, who was still a child at the time, by grabbing her waist and “not taking sufficient care to avoid touching her breasts”.
In a witness statement, the pupil said: "Sometimes he would also brush past my breasts and claim it was an accident, making a giggly remark about 'boobs', yet again I thought this was being brotherly."
Sarah Buxcey from the Teaching Regulation Agency said in a report on the panel’s findings, published this month, that on “the balance of probabilities” many of the allegations against Wall had been proven.
She added: “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.
“In this case, the panel has found some of the allegations not proven. I have therefore put those matters entirely from my mind. The panel has made a recommendation to the Secretary of State that Mr James Wall should be the subject of a prohibition order, with no provision for a review period.”
She added: “This means that Mr James Wall is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.
“Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Wall shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”
