Teacher banned after sending texts and gifts to pupil

A teacher who had an inappropriate relationship with a pupil he described as a "very special person" has been struck off by a teaching watchdog.

Stephen White, who was employed at St Wilfrid's Catholic School in Crawley, West Sussex, admitted the allegations and that he was "guilty of unacceptable professional conduct".

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) report stated that White engaged inappropriately with the student, Pupil A, between March 2020 and March 2023.

This included sending emails and gifts, exchanging text messages of a personal nature, spending time alone with the student on school premises, and taking photos with her.

The report said that White did not inform the school of his contact with Pupil A and he did not follow management guidelines from members of staff to limit his contact with the student.

His conduct was "dishonest" and "lacking integrity", according to the report.

In January 2023, a former pupil reported to the school that White had been communicating with Pupil A by text message.

The school reported the matter to the local authority and suspended White after carrying out an internal investigation.

He was dismissed the next day.

The report stated the panel found that a teacher messaging a pupil out of school hours and at weekends was "entirely inappropriate" and thus created a "safeguarding risk to Pupil A".

The texts White sent the pupil were "personal in tone, volume and content" and there were "upwards of 100 text message exchanges from one evening alone".

The report also stated White took "deliberate steps" to ensure the school did not find out about his communications with Pupil A.

In an email from White in 2022, he told the pupil "please don't mention it to anyone else" as he would "get into a lot of trouble".

The report said the panel found White to have breached the Teachers' Standards, including safeguarding, observing proper boundaries, treating pupils with dignity and building relationships rooted on mutual respect.

It added the panel found White was "guilty of unacceptable professional conduct".

Under the ban, this means White is "prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England".

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