Teacher Inderjit Singh struck off for kissing and hugging students at Grange Technology College in 2017


A Bradford maths teacher has been banned from the profession after being found to have kissed and hugged students in a “sexually motivated” manner.
Inderjit Singh, 43, was a teacher at Grange Technology College in Little Horton when the incidents took place between November 2016 and March 2017.
At a Teaching Regulation Agency hearing, he was found to have engaged in inappropriate physical contact with three students. He kissed and hugged two students, and hugged a third.
Singh, who did not attend the hearing, denied the allegations against him.
The panel heard that one of the girls “blamed herself” for Singh’s behaviour, and was concerned about how she would look if she reported him.
The panel found “more likely than not” that the motivation behind Singh hugging and kissing the girls was sexual. An allegation of squeezing the third girl’s hand was proven, but not found to be sexual.
Singh’s behaviour was described as “misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession” by the panel, and that it was “unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute”.
It was acknowledged during the hearing that Singh was a “good maths teacher” and “highly professional” before the incidents occurred.
The panel issued Singh with a prohibition order, banning him from teaching indefinitely, with a review period of three years, as he had fallen “significantly short of the standards expected of the profession”.
It added: “The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a finding of sexual misconduct.
“Singh repeatedly failed to recognise appropriate boundaries with pupils in his classes.”
Dominic Wall, chief executive of the Southfield Grange Trust, said: “In 2017 our headteacher Alison Mander received a complaint from a student.
“She launched an investigation which raised sufficient concern for an inquiry which led to the dismissal of Inderjit Singh.
“His behaviour was considered to be gross misconduct and not acceptable. Miss Mander and Southfield Grange require the highest standards at Grange, and as a result this was referred further.
“Miss Mander attended the hearing as a witness, and the hearing has led to a minimum three year ban which we consider appropriate.We regret any harm was caused to our students, but we are pleased our students feel confident to tell the headteacher about these matters and that she would investigate and act in their best interest.”