A FORMER teacher has been told he can never work in a school again after he admitted entering into a sexual relationship with an A Level student while she was on study leave.

Steven Jackson, 53, was Head of English at Upton Hall School in Birkenhead when he began seeing the female pupil outside of school hours.

He later admitted that the relationship became sexual. 

Mr Jackson, who had worked at the all-girls Catholic grammar school since 2011, resigned in January 2020, shortly after the allegations came to light resulting in his suspension.

In July this year, a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) met to consider Mr Jackson's case and recommended to the Secretary of State that he should be the subject of a prohibition order due to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

The panel heard that that after the pupil had finished her A Levels she contacted the school to report that Mr Jackson had given her his telephone number and that he had then started to text her and invited her to his house.

She also reported that she had been to Mr Jackson’s house on four or five occasions and that they engaged in sexual acts and sexual intercourse.

She also reported that she was aware that what had happened to her had also happened to another pupil. 

Mr Jackson was interviewed by the police, but there were no criminal charges and the school subsequently conducted a disciplinary investigation before referring the case to the TRA.

On the last day of term before she went on study leave, Mr Jackson had hugged the pupil and told her he would miss her before entering his mobile number into her phone.

She said that, during her study leave, Mr Jackson called her on her mobile phone. She said he then asked her if she wanted to go to his house that evening for dinner. She said that, although she was at first taken aback, she agreed to go.

The panel reviewed screenshots of the messages sent to the pupil by Mr Jackson and determined that there were numerous messages that were inappropriate and/or sexual in nature, including one in which she had said she had finished with her partner, to which he sent a message in which he said, “Does this mean I can see you now? X”

Other messages from Mr Jackson seen by the panel included him writing: “You are in all my day dreams and all my night dreams X” and “Drunk, Thinking of you. Bad idea. X”

In her evidence the pupil said that she went to his house while she was on study leave and they had dinner and drank wine. She said that Mr Jackson encouraged her to try whisky and that when she was there he kissed her and touched her inappropriately over her clothing.

The panel heard evidence that Mr Jackson had sexual intercourse with the pupil on several occasions at his home and that this was whilst she was still a pupil. It also continued into the immediate period after she ceased to be a pupil.

With regards the second pupil, the panel heard that Mr Jackson added her as a Facebook ‘friend’ prior to completion of her A-Level examinations when she was still a pupil at the school.

When interviewed by the police, Mr Jackson acknowledged that he had been pursuing a friendship with the pupil, although he denied that he had sought any romantic or sexual involvement with her.

The panel found, however, that "his proven actions were in pursuit of a sexual relationship. His conduct was, therefore, sexually motivated."

Evidence provided by the second pupil described how on a school trip, Mr Jackson had allowed pupils to drink alcohol at a "special meal at a restaurant" and afterwards he had stayed with the pupil alone in a café at the hostel they were staying at where they had talked about music for "30 minutes". 

On another occasion they had both attended a gig before going back to the pupil's friend's house.

Mr Jackson subsequently started messaging her on Facebook asking her to go to gigs during her A-Levels, but she told him that she had to study.

The pupil said that Mr Jackson asked her to go round to his house several times and she made excuses not to go.

In making a recommendation of a prohibition order to the Secretary of State, the DFA panel said: "In the light of the panel’s findings against Mr Jackson, which involved sexually motivated conduct towards two pupils and engaging in sexual activity with one of those pupils, there was a strong public interest consideration in respect of the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils.

"Similarly, the panel considered that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Jackson were not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession."

It added: "The panel was conscious that Mr Jackson’s actions were deliberate and repeated over two academic years in relation to two different pupils, suggesting a pattern of behaviour.

“The panel noted that some of the allegations took place outside the education setting. However, the behaviour of Mr Jackson had its roots in activities in the school environment. The panel found that Mr Jackson used his professional position to groom the pupils concerned. This conduct affected the way he fulfilled his responsibilities as a teacher, which included safeguarding pupils. This also led to the pupils being exposed to, or influenced by, the behaviour in a harmful way.

"In the view of the panel, Mr Jackson presents a serious and ongoing risk to young people."

Mr Jackson is now prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. 

He will also not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

Responding to the panel's findings, a spokesperson for Upton Hall School, said: "We welcome the determination of the professional conduct panel.

"We were able to act swiftly under our child protection arrangements, when these matters were brought to our attention, and worked with key stakeholders to bring Mr Jackson before the Teaching Regulation Agency.

"We are committed to the safety of our pupils and will continue to work with others to ensure our safeguarding policies and procedures remain robust."