Teacher Banned After Telling Pupil ‘you’re so thick it’s a good job you’re pretty’

A teacher who told a pupil “you’re so thick it’s a good job you’re pretty” has been banned from the classroom for at least 10 years.

Paul Richardson, a 29-year-old cover supervisor at the Woodham Academy school in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, allowed another pupil to sit on his shoulders during a gym session and kissed and cuddled a third girl he had invited to his home.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) hearing last month was told Mr Richardson, who was not represented and did not attend, did not dispute any of the allegations.

He admitted allowing Pupil A to sit on his shoulders – with the girl later saying she did not know why, and how it made her feel unhappy that it had happened. He also commented “nice see-through leggings you’ve got there”, or words to that effect, about Pupil A, the hearing was told.

The teacher also told a girl known as Pupil B “you’re so thick, it’s a good job you’re pretty”, or similar words. He carried a photo of the girl in his phone case.

The following year, he held the hand of a girl known as Pupil C during a walk and kissed her on the lips. Mr Richardson also kissed and cuddled her when she got upset at his home – and admitted that he had given her a house key.

The teacher also agreed he had sent WhatsApp messages to Pupil C stating that he loved her. But during a police interview, he stated: “There was never a sexual thing, more of a friendship, like I love ya, let me help you sort of thing.”

He also told police, alerted after a complaint to school, that he had told Pupil C that they could get married in the future.

The TRA panel found his behaviour was sexually motivated and that he had failed to maintain a professional pupil-teacher relationship, that he had shown no remorse and that he had little insight into the impact of his behaviour.

Mr Richardson had indicated he had no intention of returning to the profession but he was prohibited from teaching with a minimum review period of 10 years.