By Scunthorpe teacher avoids ban over bottle-throwing rant
The maths teacher was found guilty of common assault and dismissed from St Lawrence Academy, Scunthorpe, after the pupil’s mother reported him to police.
A panel ruled against a teaching ban over the “one-off error of judgment”.
Darren Burt became “aggressive” when a pupil swore at him, and said he would be “picking his teeth off the ground” if he spoke that way outside school.
On January 22 2019, Mr Burt had asked a boy, referred to as Pupil A, not to drink in the hallway, and to go to assembly.
After the boy swore and verbally abused Mr Burt, he was sent to an isolation room, according to the panel’s report.
At this point the teacher became aggressive, threw the boy’s water bottle across the room and moved a table to stop him from exiting, the report said.
Unsplash
After the pupil’s mother viewed the CCTV, she made a complaint to the police and the academy launched a disciplinary investigation.
Mr Burt had worked at the Scunthorpe secondary school for 13 years and had been promoted to Head of Year and Head of Mathematics.
In its findings, the Teaching Regulation Authority said his conduct had fallen significantly short of the standards expected of teachers despite “significant provocation”.
The panel said it had taken into account the fact that Mr Burt was facing significant pressures in his personal life, and was provoked by the boy.
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