Instructor Banned for Unacceptable Relationships with Former Students

Instructor Banned for Unacceptable Relationships with Former Students

For life, Mr. Teacher was banned from his teaching position after a certain group determined that he most probably had sexual relations with one ex-student and sent inappropriate messages to another.

Phillips, 34, was a PE teacher at Healing Academy, a high school near Grimsby. At the hearing, the Teaching Regulation Agency learned that he had denied the allegations and many of their particulars. Nevertheless, between the 6th and 9th of May, during a public meeting, the agency concluded that Mr. Phillips had abused his position in trying to begin seriously inappropriate and sexual relationships with children.

The panel also found that Mr. Phillips had engaged in conversations and sent many messages to former students via email, Instagram, and Snapchat in a sexual and inappropriate way. In one instance, the conduct culminated in repeated and gross sexual acts.

The trust that owns the school said that they acted swiftly on the allegations and had a good working relationship with the investigation. Their knowledge was that Mr. Phillips had his inappropriate relationships with two ex-students, A and B, after leaving the school. Both stated Mr. Phillips began to act differently towards them as they were about to leave.

Pupil A said that Mr. Phillips had added her just after she had left school, when he started sending her messages. The investigation found that he most probably had made requests or inappropriate comments, including sending a picture of himself to her, asking for pictures of her, and making attempts to meet up with her. He also told her in a message that she was "a secret."

Pupil B said that Mr. Phillips winked at her during study times towards the end of her school time, and shortly after that, she acted on his determination to meet her by sending a flirtatious email. In reply, the two chatted away on Instagram and Snapchat, and he later asked to see her again. The investigation considered the evidence sufficient to find that he had received at least one unclothed, clear photo from her and asked, "Am I going to make the first move, or are you?"

The group found, in all likelihood, that Mr. Phillips had kissed, had sex with, and engaged in other like acts with Pupil B. The group considered that Mr. Phillips was in breach of the standard and safety requirements, which regard all persons under 18 years as children. The group found him "guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct," which "may bring disrepute upon the profession."

"There were numerous occasions on which the accused broke his trust and rapport with these former pupils, and the group had no doubt that his actions had caused them harm and were continuing to harm them significantly even now."

After Mr. Phillips stated that he did not feel he could give proper answers to the accusations and had no intention of returning to teaching, Sarah Buxcey of the decision-making level set a forever ban on the teacher with the consent of the secretary of state. According to the trust's words, "Harbour Learning Trust is all in to keep all kids safe and well and expects every staff member to stick to this strong promise."

The words went on: "The trust very fastly dealt with this bad event, under the leadership of the former CEO and previous head teacher, and the school and trust both did whatever was necessary for the review. Harbour Learning Trust will not allow acts that bring damage to the reputation, safety, or well-being of our children."

Humberside Police said they received information about "improper acts and ties of a teacher." It continued: "After a deep and thorough inquiry, no action was taken."

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