Former Warwickshire teacher banned from profession after sending 'seriously inappropriate' sexual messages to female colleagues
A former Warwickshire teacher has been banned from the profession after he sent “unsolicited and seriously inappropriate” sexual messages to junior female colleagues at a primary school where he once worked.
A professional conduct hearing held by a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel last month found that Ashley Kalnins, 39, sent the messages while working as a teacher at St Francis Catholic Primary School in Bedworth around September 2016 and December 2018.
Kalnins also told two people to delete messages while working at the school.
He was also found to have made inappropriate comments, asking one of the two women to “send him nude pictures of herself".
It was also proven that Kalnins asked her to give him a massage, or words to that effect, and made comments about sharing a shower.
Allegations that he sent another woman inappropriate messages and told her to delete messages were found proven on the balance of probabilities.
Kalnins was barred from teaching indefinitely by the professional conduct panel, after a report concluded he "did not appear to sufficiently grasp that his actions were wholly inappropriate".
He cannot teach in any school, sixth form, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England and will not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.
The decision was made by Stuart Blomfield on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson MP.
Mr Blonfield said: “The panel considered Mr Kalnins’ behaviours to be exploitative towards junior female staff, extremely serious misconduct and entirely unacceptable.”
According to the TRA report, Kalnins "expressed in his evidence that looking back he should have shown better judgement and was truly sorry for his behaviour”.
It adds: “Mr Kalnins stated that he deeply regretted any actions and words that had unintentionally caused harm.
“He stated that he would never wittingly upset another person and genuinely believed at the time his comments were harmless flirting.”
Kalnins has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days from the date he was given notice of the order.
To read the panel’s report visit https://tinyurl.com/45rktab7