Teacher, 35, who let pupils out of his sight to kiss teenage classrooom assistant is suspended

A married teacher who left his young pupils unsupervised to kiss a teenage colleague has been suspended from the profession for a year.

John Eliot Lawrence, 35, was teaching at Ysgol Trefonnen Church in Wales Community Primary in Llandrindod Wells when he began a breakfast club and early years teaching assistant at the school.

An Education Workforce Council (EWC) Fitness to Practice hearing on Friday found all but one of six allegations amounting to unacceptable misconduct against him proven.

The allegations included that he left around 11 pupils aged five and six unattended and out of his sight in an outside “forest school” area while he kissed the teenager on an unknown date between May 11 and June 21 2018 - two of the three allegations he admitted.

The hearing found it not proven that Mr Lawrence had also touched the teenager’s  bottom in the presence of pupils on the school site, an allegation Mr Lawrence denied.

But the hearing found he had breached the school’s social media policy by sending a Instagram message to the teenager referring to an unnamed pupil on or around May 11 2011, an allegation Mr Lawrence admitted adding he had not named the child.

The hearing also found that his actions in kissing the teenager and allowing children out of his sight at the time were sexually motivated and that his actions constituted unacceptable professional conduct.

Mr Lawrence, who joined Ysgol Trefonnen in 2015, had an excellent rapport with pupils but could be inconsistent as a teacher the EWC hearing was told (Google)

Suspending Mr Lawrence from teaching for a year, hearing chairman Peter Owen said he had put his own interests ahead of his pupils and his conduct fell “short of that expected of a registered person”.

“Relationships between consenting members of staff are entirely acceptable, providing they do not interfere with their professional responsibilities, but Mr Lawrence’s conduct took place during school and on a school site,” the chairman added.

Mr Lawrence resigned from Ysgol Trefonnen when the allegations were first investigated by the school in summer 2018 and has not taught since. He earlier told the hearing he was working as a chef and expressed regret and remorse for his actions.

The identity of the teenager, who did not attend the two day hearing, was only referred to as Colleague A throughout the hearing.

Representing the registrant, Geraint Davies stressed that the relationship with Colleague A was was not illegal and said both were consenting adults.

The suspension order means Mr Lawrence is removed from the teaching register for a year, after which he can re-apply for registration.