Unknown Teacher

The Secretary of State does not make these decisions himself. They are made by a senior official on the recommendation of an independent panel.

Teacher reference number:

0264448

Teacher's date of birth:

12 January 1977

Location teacher worked:

Banbury, South East England

Date of professional conduct panel:

16 May 2019

Outcome type:

Prohibition order

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with The Teacher's’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012, a professional conduct panel was convened to consider the case of Ms Dolores Celine Cecile Papin, formerly employed in Banbury, South East England.

The proceedings were held at 5 Cheylesmore House, 5 Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT at 9.30am on 16 May 2019.

Teacher misconduct

Ground Floor, South

Cheylesmore House

5 Quinton RoadCoventryCV1 2WT

Email TRA.Casework@education.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7593 5393

Information about regulating the teaching profession and the process for dealing with serious teacher misconduct.

Ms Dolores Celine Cecile Papin: Professional conduct panel meeting outcome Panel decision and reasons on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education May 2019 2 Contents Contents 2 A. Introduction 3 B. Allegations 4 C. Summary of evidence 4 Documents 4 Statement of agreed facts 5 D. Decision and reasons 5 Findings of fact 5 Findings as to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute 7 Panel’s recommendation to the Secretary of State 8 Decision and reasons on behalf of the Secretary of State 10 3 Professional conduct panel decision and recommendations, and decision on behalf of the Secretary of State Teacher: Ms Dolores Celine Cecile Papin Teacher ref number: 0264448 Teacher date of birth: 12 January 1977 TRA reference: 17438 Date of determination: 16 May 2019 Former employer: Sibford School, Banbury A. Introduction A professional conduct panel (“the panel”) of the Teaching Regulation Agency (“the TRA”) convened on 16 May 2019 at Cheylesmore House, 5 Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT. The panel members were Mrs Kathy Thomson (former teacher panellist – in the chair), Mr Maurice McBride (lay panellist) and Mr Paul Hawkins (teacher panellist). The legal adviser to the panel was Ms Surekha Gollapudi of Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP solicitors. In advance of the meeting, the TRA agreed to a request from Ms Papin that the allegations be considered without a hearing, after taking into consideration the public interest and the interests of justice. Ms Papin provided a signed statement of agreed facts and admitted unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. The panel considered the case at a meeting without the attendance of the presenting officer, Ms Papin or her representative. The meeting took place in private, save for the announcement of the panel’s decision, which was announced in public and recorded. 4 B. Allegations The panel considered the allegations set out in the Notice of Meeting dated 23 April 2019. It was alleged that Ms Papin was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, in that: 1. She engaged in and / or developed an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A between 2017 and 2018, including by: a. giving Pupil A gifts: i. including a gift which she gave Pupil A for Pupil A’s birthday in 2017 ii. on one or more occasion b. being alone with Pupil A c. engaging in inappropriate communication with Pupil A: i. including by writing to Pupil A at Pupil A’s home address in or around 11 July 2017 ii. including by giving Pupil A a letter she had written in or around November 2017 iii. on one or more occasion 2. She continued to engage in conduct as described at 1.a. and / or 1.b. and / or 1.c. above despite receiving a written warning in respect of her conduct towards Pupil A on or around 8 December 2017. The teacher admits the facts of the allegations, and that they amount to unacceptable professional conduct and / or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. C. Summary of evidence Documents In advance of the meeting, the panel received a bundle of documents which included: Section 1: Chronology – page 2 Section 2: Notice of Referral, Responses and Notice of Meeting – pages 3 to 10 Section 3: Statement of Agreed Facts and Presenting Officer Representations – pages 11 to 17 5 Section 4: Teaching Regulation Agency documents – pages 18 to 100 Section 5: Teacher documents – pages 101 to 112 The panel members confirmed that they had read all of the documents in advance of the meeting. Statement of agreed facts The panel considered a statement of agreed facts which was signed by Ms Papin on 4 March 2019. D. Decision and reasons The panel announced its decision and reasons as follows: The panel has carefully considered the case and has reached a decision. In advance of the meeting, the TRA agreed to a request from Ms Papin that the allegations be considered without a hearing. The panel has the ability to direct that the case be considered at a hearing if required in the interests of justice or in the public interest. The panel did not determine that such a direction is necessary or appropriate in this case. Ms Papin was employed at Sibford School as a Modern Foreign Language teacher from 1 September 2006. In 2017 and 2018, it is alleged that Ms Papin developed an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A. It is further alleged that Ms Papin continued the relationship with Pupil A despite receiving a management instruction to cease inappropriate contact. Findings of fact Our findings of fact are as follows: The panel has found the following particulars of the allegations against you proven, for these reasons: 1. You engaged in and/or developed an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A between 2017 and 2018, including by: a. giving her gifts i. including a gift which you gave her for her birthday in 2017 ii. on more than one occasion 6 The teacher admitted the facts of this allegation in the statement of agreed facts dated 4 March 2019. The panel also had regard to the evidence collated by the school during its investigation. In her statement of 4 October 2018, Ms Papin confirmed that, “I did give a birthday card, a book and a stress ball to the student in April 2017 for her birthday…”. Ms Papin further confirmed that she gave Pupil A a cushion in November 2017 and a joke book in March 2018. The panel therefore found this allegation proven. b. being alone with her The teacher admitted the facts of this allegation in the statement of agreed facts dated 4 March 2019. The panel also had regard to the evidence collated by the school during its investigation. In the agreed statement of facts, Ms Papin admitted that she walked around the school alone with Pupil A in May 2018. The panel therefore found this allegation proven. c. engaging in inappropriate communication with her i. including by writing to her at her home address in or around 11 July 2017 ii. including by giving her a letter you had written in or around November 2017 iii. on more than one occasion The teacher admitted the facts of this allegation in the statement of agreed facts dated 4 March 2019. The panel also had regard to the evidence collated by the school during its investigation. The panel was provided with copies of correspondence sent by Ms Papin, both to Pupil A’s home address, and also, hand delivered to Pupil A at the school. The panel particularly noted that the tone and content of the correspondence was inappropriate, and included phrases such as, “I care too much about you to let you down and then I get carried away trying to help you…” and, “I have been trying to give you some space this week as I feel I tend to invade it too much.” The panel therefore found this allegation proven. 7 Having found all of the above proven, the panel found that Ms Papin did engage in and/or develop an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A between 2017 and 2018. 2. You continued to engage in conduct as described at 1.a. and / or 1.b. and / or 1.c. above despite receiving a written warning in respect of your conduct towards Pupil A on or around 8 December 2017 The teacher admitted the facts of this allegation in the statement of agreed facts dated 4 March 2019. The panel also had regard to the evidence collated by the school during its investigation. The panel noted that Ms Papin was given a management instruction on 8 December 2017, which stated: - “You will avoid all communication with Pupil A via email or any other form of electronic medium - You will avoid situations where there is only you and Pupil A present - You will avoid being in the same area as Pupil A without good reason” The panel noted that Ms Papin admitted that she did walk around the school alone with Pupil A on several occasions in May 2018. The panel therefore found this allegation proven. Findings as to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute Having found the allegations to have been proven, the panel has gone on to consider whether the facts of those proven allegations amount to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. In doing so, the panel has had regard to the document Teacher Misconduct: The Prohibition of Teachers, which the panel refers to as “the Advice”. The panel is satisfied that the conduct of Ms Papin, in relation to the facts found proven, involved breaches of the Teachers’ Standards. The panel considers that by reference to Part Two, Ms Papin is in breach of the following standards:  Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by 8 o treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position o having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions  Teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach  Teachers must have an understanding of, and always act within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities. The panel is satisfied that the conduct of Ms Papin fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. The panel has also considered whether Ms Papin’s conduct displayed behaviours associated with any of the offences listed on pages 8 and 9 of the Advice and has found that none of these offences are relevant. The panel has taken into account how the teaching profession is viewed by others and considered th