Ex-Tong Academy teaching assistant struck off after sex with pupil
GoogleA teaching assistant has been struck off indefinitely for having a sexual relationship with a pupil at a Bradford school.
Joanne Phillips worked as an advanced teaching assistant at Tong Academy.
The relationship took place between June 2017 and June 2018, a professional conduct panel said.
Mrs Phillips' behaviour was particularly serious as it included an inappropriate and sexual relationship with a vulnerable child, it added.
Mrs Phillips was not present at the hearing conducted by the Teaching Regulation Agency panel.
Her conduct "fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession", said the panel's report published on Monday.
The relationship started while the child was a pupil and continued after he left the school, it said.
It also found she shared her telephone number with the pupil, sent and received text messages from him and drove alone in her car with him.
Concerns over her behaviour were raised with the school in March 2018 and Mrs Phillips was the subject of a police investigation, but no action was taken.
She resigned from the school on 29 June 2018.
There were no previous findings against Mrs Phillips and there was evidence she had a successful teaching record, the panel noted.
However, her actions "were not isolated and the conduct took place over a significant period of several months".
The decision means Mrs Phillips is prohibited from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.
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