Teacher asked pupil for call to 'cheer him up'

Philip Baker had been a history teacher at Beckfoot Thornton School for 19 years

A history teacher who asked a pupil to call him because he needed "cheering up" behaved "inappropriately", a misconduct panel has found.

Philip Baker tried to call the female student five times when she ignored his request to phone in July 2022, the hearing was told.

Mr Baker, who was a history teacher at Beckfoot Thornton School in Bradford, was retiring from the profession the same month.

The panel concluded that while his actions were not "malicious", his conduct was an "eroding of boundaries".

The hearing's written findings described how two of Mr Baker's pupils had made a TikTok video for him as a retirement gift.

It was said that the history teacher, who'd worked at the secondary school since 2003, later asked the students if they could make a TikTok video of his dog and gave them his personal phone number so they could send him the link to it.

Having initially texted one of the pupils to ask her to pass a message on to the other about the video, it was said Mr Baker sent her "a text message saying “could do with a call as nearing [sic] cheering up"."

When she asked why, he responded: "If you want to know call me now."

It was said the pupil felt "awkward" about calling him and as a result replied: "Can't call mic is broke".

'Not malevolent'

It was alleged the teacher then attempted to call her five times, though she did not pick up.

In an email explaining his actions, Mr Baker said he'd "already left the school" and believed the pupils were worried about not being able to give him his retirement present.

He said he had phoned the pupil to suggest they give the present to a third party and added: "It seemed easier to call rather than text as I could hardly read my screen."

The panel found that while Mr Baker's reasons for making contact with the pupils was "certainly initially" genuine, his actions breached professional standards.

It said it was an "isolated episode" in an otherwise "unblemished" career and took into account the fact he was in the process of retiring.

The panel further concluded his actions were "whilst highly inappropriate, not malicious", adding: "This was not a malevolent course of conduct but an eroding of boundaries."

Mr Baker did not attend the hearing, telling his representatives that he was "not bothered" by the findings because he would "never work in any capacity again".

The panel took no further action against him, stating an order banning from teaching again was not in the public interest.

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