A former deputy headteacher has been banned from the classroom for life after performing a lewd act in front of a junior staff member and kissing “vulnerable” schoolgirls in his office.
Simon Graves, 52, worked at Carlton le Willows Academy, Nottingham, between 2009 and 2014, where he carried out the “inappropriate” behaviour towards three pupils and a colleague.
In one case, Mr Graves, who worked as the school’s safeguarding lead, locked the junior staff member in his office and masturbated in front of her.
The staff member, who was not named, was left “shocked” and “confused” over the incident, a Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel found.
He also texted a 17-year-old pupil asking her to sit on his office desk so he could have sex with her, as well as telling her he would pay for a taxi to take her to his home.
At one point, he visited the girl at her home while her parents were out and kissed her on the lips while rubbing her back as she was upset and crying.
The panel heard that Mr Graves set up the school’s girls football team and would drive pupils back home after matches and training. At times, he would touch their thighs in his car.
He also “placed his hands either side” of a different schoolgirl’s shoulders and “kissed her on the lips” while she was alone picking up football kit for a game.
At another point, he told a schoolgirl who had come to his office crying and upset she was “hormonal”, before stroking her thigh “higher than anyone should put their hands”.
The panel’s decision maker David Oatley said of his ban: “The panel was of the view that prohibition was both proportionate and appropriate. It decided the public interest outweighed the interests of Mr Graves.
“The sexual motivation and sexual nature of some of the allegations and also taking advantage of vulnerable students who were experiencing loss or upset was a significant factor in forming that opinion.”
He added: “Mr Graves 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 Graves shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”
