Former RE Teacher Receives Indefinite Teaching Ban Over Secret Pupil Relationship
A former Religious Education teacher has been banned indefinitely from the teaching profession after a disciplinary panel uncovered a secret three-year inappropriate relationship with a pupil that involved sending "upwards of 100 texts in one night." The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) determined that Mr Stephen White, who worked at St Wilfrid's Catholic School in Crawley, near London Gatwick, engaged in excessive out-of-hours communication and actively concealed the relationship from school authorities.
Excessive Communication and Concealment Tactics
Between March 2020 and March 2023, White exchanged extensive personal emails and text messages with a student, referred to as "Pupil A" in the official report. The TRA panel found that he called the pupil a "very special person" and frequently referred to her as "#1" in communications that regularly occurred after 9 PM and on weekends. Beyond digital messaging, White spent time alone with the pupil on school premises, sent her a multi-page personal letter, and provided gifts.
The investigation revealed that White explicitly instructed the pupil to keep their communications secret. In one email, he warned her not to swear to avoid detection by the school's IT systems, and in another, he told her to "keep on down low." The panel concluded this deliberate concealment was dishonest and lacked integrity, falling far below the ethical standards expected of educators.
Failure to Heed Warnings and Escalating Behavior
Despite receiving formal management advice and warnings from senior staff starting in November 2021 to limit contact and maintain professional boundaries, White failed to change his behavior. Instead, the relationship escalated as he shifted communication from school emails to personal text messages to evade detection. The panel noted that the inappropriate relationship had become the subject of widespread gossip, resulting in Pupil A being mocked by her peers.
Evidence presented included an email where White attached a photograph of his newborn child, further blurring professional lines. The full extent of the relationship was uncovered in January 2023 when a former pupil reported the text messaging to the school. White was suspended days later and dismissed in March 2023.
Panel Findings and Prohibition Order
The TRA panel stated: "We concluded that Mr White had, by his own admission, been arrogant in not taking the concerns raised by the School seriously. Mr White's attitude had been that he knew best and had judged his conduct according to his own motives rather than by the standards of the School." While acknowledging that White's actions were out of character and that he showed "significant insight and genuine remorse" during the hearing, the panel deemed his conduct a significant safeguarding risk.
In a decision made on behalf of the Secretary of State, a prohibition order was deemed necessary to maintain public confidence in the teaching profession. White is banned indefinitely from teaching in any school, sixth form college, or children's home in England. He will be eligible to apply for a review of the order after a minimum of two years, in April 2028.
