A teacher at a Liverpool girls' school has been struck off indefinitely after he was found to have tickled a pupil’s hips, put his finger in a student’s mouth and nose and used “inappropriate language” around learners.
Joseph Johnson, 29, a former food technology teacher at the Belvedere Academy in Liverpool 8 has been banned from the classroom after a professional conduct panel into his behaviour at the school between 2018 and 2019. Documents made public following the hearing, held in Mr Johnson’s absence, revealed how he used sexually explicit language around pupils, and on one occasion licked his hand and attempted to place it on pupils’ faces.
The report said Mr Johnson was engaged by the school, initially as an agency member of staff in January 2018 and was subsequently employed on a one-year contract as a teacher of food technology from July 2018 to August 2019.
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In December 2018, an allegation was made by a pupil that Mr Johnson used inappropriate language and “tickled her hips” when moving past her in the classroom. The teacher denied this incident and a note was placed on his file. In May 2019, a disclosure was made by two further pupils who alleged that Mr Johnson had regularly used inappropriate language towards them.
A total of 11 statements were taken from other pupils in Mr Johnson’s Year 10 class and he was suspended from his position at the school. He denied all allegations made during a school investigation meeting held in June 2019 and police confirmed no further action would be taken against him.
The panel made findings of fact that Mr Johnson called one pupil “a t**t,” tickled a pupil on the hips and said if pupils were naughty he would “take them up to ‘Ceiling Gary’ and ‘he will lock you up, or words to that effect.” The panel were satisfied that in April 2019, Mr Johnson kicked a pupil’s chair and said “I’m going to get you” before calling them a cretin.
During a Year 8 lesson in May that year, Mr Johnson was said to have told pupils: “what’s the difference between a pie and a tart, tarts are topless” while on unknown dates, the food tech teacher referred to students as “little s**ts.” The panel said Mr Johnson had also told students a sexually explicit story which was “wholly inappropriate” and described as “egregious.”
The report said: “The panel considered that as a teacher Mr Johnson should be a role model to students and when using the inappropriate language and engaging in inappropriate behaviour he fell far short of the standards expected of him and had failed in his duty of care to students.” The officials noted that some of his misconduct was of a sexual nature and teenage girls who become familiar with such language may become vulnerable to exploitation or abuse.
The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Johnson amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. Accordingly, the panel was satisfied that Mr Johnson was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.
It was noted by the panel that Belvedere School is a girls-only school. As Mr Johnson engaged in sexualised language directed at his students, this “heightens the misconduct", the report said.
The report said Mr Johnson was in a position of trust and there was evidence to suggest that he was acting as if he was the pupils’ friend as opposed to their teacher. It was considered there could be a risk of Mr Johnson repeating this type of inappropriate behaviour in the future given that he had first been given management advice around the language that he used at the end of 2018 and had subsequently gone on to repeatedly use wholly inappropriate language and behave in a way that falls far short of the standards that are expected from a teacher.
As a result, Mr Johnson is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until January 2027.
This is not an automatic right to have the prohibition order removed. Without a successful application, Mr Johnson remains prohibited from teaching indefinitely.
A spokesperson for Girls’ Day School Trust, which operates Belvedere Academy, said: "Mr Johnson worked at Belvedere Academy for eighteen months. When concerns about his behaviour were flagged in May 2019, he was immediately reported to the authorities, and suspended from the school.
"Following his suspension and the conclusion of a full investigation in line with internal procedures, he was subsequently dismissed, and we referred the case to the Teaching Regulation Agency. The welfare of our pupils is our highest priority, and we take safeguarding extremely seriously, following local authority and Girls’ Day School Trust safeguarding protocol.
"Pupils, staff and parents are encouraged to share any concerns they may have and these will be immediately acted upon."
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