Former Suffolk teacher Michelle Parry banned from teaching indefinitely following inappropriate conduct with pupils including of a sexual nature

A former Suffolk teacher has been banned from the profession indefinitely after she was found to have committed ‘serious sexually motivated misconduct’.

Michelle Parry, 41, faced allegations of failing to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with two pupils while working as a teacher at a high school and then at a sixth form college, both in Suffolk.

Both former pupils had not remained in close contact with each other following leaving school, a professional conduct panel report said.

However, in June 2021 they met up and discussed their experiences with Ms Parry, who was formerly known as Ms Randé, and decided they should make a referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency, which resulted in the hearing.

Ms Parry was employed as a music teacher at the high school from 2005 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2011 she worked as a music teacher at a sixth form. The allegations relate to a time period from 2009 to 2011.

The allegations, found proved by the professional conduct panel, include giving gifts to the former pupils, referred to as person A and person B, supplying them with alcohol and inviting them to her home.

The proved allegations also included Ms Parry having a sexual relationship with person A, making unnecessary physical contact with them and sending them messages that were inappropriate and/or sexual in nature.

The report said: “The evidence before the panel showed a complete breakdown of the boundary between the professional relationship that should be maintained between teacher and pupils.”

The panel was not satisfied that Ms Parry’s conduct in relation to person A was sexually motivated apart from the sexual relations themselves, and felt there was no suggestion of any sexual intention towards person B.

In redacted evidence before the panel person A described feeling ‘controlled and trapped’ by the situation during the time of the relationship with Ms Parry. They described feeling ‘isolated and powerless’, even though they recognised at the time the relationship was inappropriate.

Person B’s evidence highlighted the impact of the breakdown of the professional boundaries in that they sometimes felt confused as to whether they interacting with a friend or with a teacher.

The panel noted that it could be considered that some of the allegations took place outside the education setting.

However as the allegations all centre on the teacher/pupil relationship, the panel considered that it was impossible to divorce this from the professional teaching environment, regardless of the location of the relevant events.

The report said the panel took into account that Ms Parry’s behaviour persisted over an extended period of time and in the face of apparent warnings about her conduct with pupils.

It refers to a police investigation and the comment that she was remembered as being a ‘good teacher’ at her high school however, she had ‘boundary issues’ for which she was warned several times.

“These included inappropriate interactions with students on Facebook and wanting to have an end of year party for students in her own home, for which she received a written warning”, a person of the school had said.

In his decision, Marc Cavey, on behalf of the Secretary of State, handed Ms Parry a prohibition order.

She is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She is also not allowed to to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.

Mr Cavey said: “The behaviour found by the panel occurred before the introduction of the Teacher Standards.

“However, the panel is clear in its findings that there was still a clear professional obligation at that time for teachers to promote the welfare of pupils which Ms Parry was in breach of by her actions.

“The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Ms Parry amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.”

He added: “I am particularly mindful of the finding of sexually motivated misconduct in this case and the potential negative impact that such a finding has on the reputation of the profession.”

He said he had placed considerable weight on the seriousness of the panel’s findings, including ‘serious sexually motivated misconduct’, and the lack of evidence of full insight and/or remorse.