Teacher who 'failed to maintain appropriate boundaries' with a pupil is banned from the classroom

Tariq Ali, 56, discussed personal struggles with a girl while working as a science teacher at Carleton High School in Pontefract, gave her his personal email address, met her in the school car park while he was on sick leave and failed to report safeguarding concerns.

The school launched an investigation into his behaviour in July 2018 and he was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing.

But when he successfully applied to become a science teacher at Parkwood E-ACT Academy, in Sheffield, in 2020, he lied on the application and said he had not been dismissed from any of his previous roles or faced disciplinary action.

A Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel reviewed the case earlier this month, and ruled it was “both proportionate and appropriate” for Mr Ali to be banned from teaching indefinitely.

In its ruling, it said his “dishonesty” was a “significant factor” which was taken into account when that decision was made.

The panel said Mr Ali, who had “an otherwise unblemished record”, was “motivated only by a desire to help” the girl – who was referred to as Pupil A – and there was no suggestion that he was “improperly motivated”.

He “took it upon himself” to try and support the girl but he was not “appropriately qualified to adopt this role” and he “crossed the line” when he spoke to her pupil about her personal issues and provided her with his personal email address, the panel added.

“Mr Ali's actions amounted to an ongoing failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and included distinct failings. The panel was not considering an isolated incident but failings over a period of time, evidencing poor judgement on his part,” it said.

“Mr Ali was an experienced teacher and was in a position of responsibility, as a trusted employee and prospective employee, and a role model, including in relation to Pupil A. He ought to have known what was expected of him and conducted himself accordingly.”

Mr Ali denied lying on the job application and claimed he honestly believed he had been made redundant by the Carleton High School because he had recieved a compensation payment, but the misconduct panel refused to accept this.

“The panel has concluded that this was an instance of dishonesty that could not be described as trivial. This was deliberate conduct that was tantamount to deception,” it wrote.