A teacher has been banned from teaching for life after hitting a pupil with a ruler.
Farooq Ahmed, 58, was handed a police caution and prohibited from teaching indefinitely after striking a pupil on 24 November 2023 at Oasis Academy Lister Park in Bradford.
He was also found guilty of pushing and kicking a chair on which a second pupil had been sitting.
The incident was captured on classroom CCTV and reviewed after two female students reported the assault to the school’s assistant principal. It came less than three months after Mr Ahmed began teaching at the academy on 1 September that year.
He was suspended from his role on 27 November. West Yorkshire Police later issued a conditional caution for assault by beating, under section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Mr Ahmed resigned from his teaching post on 15 January 2024.
A subsequent investigation by the Teaching Regulation Agency, concluded last month, found that Mr Ahmed “fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.”
“The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Ahmed involved breaches of the responsibilities and duties set out in statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education,” the report stated.
During the inquiry, Mr Ahmed denied hitting the pupil, claiming that a ruler he was holding “may have brushed” the student’s hand.
However, the panel found that CCTV footage contradicted his account, showing a “deliberate flicking movement of the ruler” towards the pupil.
“The panel carefully observed the CCTV footage and towards the end of the footage noted that Mr Ahmed flicked a ruler, which appeared to make contact with Pupil B’s arm,” the report said.
“Prior to this, the panel noted that Mr Ahmed appeared to be in an agitated state, moving around the classroom in a confrontational manner and standing unnecessarily close to pupils.”
Despite later expressing remorse, the panel found that Mr Ahmed posed a “considerable risk” to the teaching profession and barred him from teaching indefinitely.
He will be entitled to apply for a review of the prohibition order after two years.
