Inappropriate texting leads to conditions on teacher’s practice…

The Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal has found a teacher guilty of serious misconduct for sending over 1200 texts to a student.  The texts went well outside the boundaries of a student/teacher relationship and included sending texts between 2am and 3 am.

The teacher was ordered to have a mentor to assist with maintaining professional boundaries and is prohibited from having any contact with students through electronic means other than the school email system and that those emails are to be monitored by the mentor and the school.

The teacher was also charged with giving gifts to a different student.  The Tribunal however found that this was not serious misconduct.  The Tribunal found that while the conduct was not condoned there was no evidence that this was the “thin edge of the wedge” for potential grooming by the teacher and was not behaviour likely to adversely impact on the student or profession.  The teacher said that she had bought the gifts of a muscle remedy and chocolate after the student had suffered a car accident.

Alan Knowsley
Education Lawyer Wellington