A north London primary school teacher has been barred from the profession after assaulting a pupil in a fit of classroom rage.
Osman Barkat, 34, was convicted of assault on a student at Brentfield Primary School in Neasden in November 2020, after throwing a weighted smartboard pen at them, leaving them with a cut nose and lip.
He was ordered to pay a fine of £120 and compensation of £200 by Willesden Magistrates’ Court.
The incident came to light after Barkat - who was fired by the school in 2021 - was barred from teaching by a misconduct panel on Tuesday.
The school’s headteacher Nicola Harmer said it had taken “prompt” action to suspend and later dismiss Barkat when the assault occurred.
The Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard how Barkat assaulted the child in a row about their behaviour, telling them: “You think you can teach better than me, come up and teach!”
The assault was witnessed by other pupils in the class, and required the school’s head to write to parents with an explanation.
In mitigation, Barkat - who did not attend the hearing - said he had not intended to hit the child with the pen, but had been aiming for the table where they were sitting. He said he agreed it was unacceptable.
The panel heard of other occasions in which the teacher, who had worked at Brentfield since 2014, struggled to control his temper, raising concerns from management.
In another November 2020 incident, he pulled a chair from underneath a pupil in anger, because they were rocking on it and had hit his ankle, before throwing the chair to the front of the room.
He was found to have pulled on a “misbehaving” pupil’s jumper while shouting at them in another case, in what the panel heard was “out of control”, while he also shouted at a fourth student without good reason because they were “a problematic child” for him.
Ruling to ban Barkat, the panel said he had shown “unacceptable” behaviour and displayed problems with managing his anger.
“He should have been aware from his training, including his training in de-escalation, that the way he acted was inappropriate and could have had a lasting, negative impact on the pupils involved, other pupils who became aware of it as well as on the school, its staff and the wider teaching profession,” it said,
“He had a pattern of losing his composure which it appeared he was unable to successfully address through training and support.”
It said that while the former teacher had shown some remorse and insight into his actions, it would bring the profession into disrepute if he were allowed to continue teaching.
In a statement, headteacher Nicola Harmer said: “The school took prompt action, and he was suspended immediately and did not return to the school site as he was dismissed from his post.
“We take safeguarding concerns incredibly seriously and have robust procedures in place. We followed all of these procedures and conducted a thorough investigation, led by the school and local authority designated officer.
“I know that many parents will be concerned, and I have taken steps to reassure them.”
The order means Barkat is barred indefinitely from teaching in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in England.
The ruling can be appealed after December 16, 2028, but any appeal may not be granted.