Teacher struck off over sexual activity with pupil

A disciplinary hearing was told Steven Jackson used his position to "groom" two pupils at Upton Hall School in Birkenhead, Wirral

An English teacher has been banned from the profession for life over sexual activity with a pupil he had "groomed".

Steven Jackson, who was head of department at Upton Hall School in Birkenhead, continued a relationship with the student after she left the school, a disciplinary panel heard.

The Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) hearing was told Mr Jackson, 53, had groomed two pupils, inviting one, known only as pupil A, to his house for dinner which led to sexual activity.

Mr Jackson was interviewed by police but no criminal charges were brought.

A disciplinary investigation was conducted by the Wirral school but the teacher resigned before any sanction was delivered.

The panel was told that Mr Jackson had sent a series of messages to Pupil A, and on "four or five occasions" engaged in sexual acts with her.

A report released following the hearing said he had also drunk alcohol with pupil A and another student, as well as placing his hands on another girl’s legs.

He worked at the school from 2011 until when he resigned after being suspended in January 2020.

The panel heard that the school, which caters for girls aged 11 to 18, received an anonymous letter describing Mr Jackson having an inappropriate relationship with a student shortly after she left school.

'Betrayed trust'

In an email dated 14 June, Mr Jackson said he had started texting Pupil A and that it became a sexual relationship.

The panel was satisfied that the relationship between Mr Jackson and Pupil A became a sexual one while she was still a pupil at the school and not after she left as had been claimed.

The hearing was told he also sent messages to another girl, Pupil B, asking her to go to gigs during her A-Levels, but she told him that she had to study.

Mr Jackson had denied inappropriately touching or propositioning a second student, the report said.

A witness told the hearing that he had seen Mr Jackson's hand on the girl's leg after a gig which they had both attended.

This led officials to conclude his actions with both pupils had been "sexually motivated".

It was deemed the behaviour amounted to unacceptable professional conduct which could bring the teaching profession into disrepute.

“The panel found that Mr Jackson used his professional position to groom the pupils concerned," the report stated.

It added that Mr Jackson had acknowledged that he had “breached and betrayed the trust that [Pupil A] had in him and he profoundly regretted the harm it has caused her.”

Mr Jackson was not present and not represented at the hearing.