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Former Rushey Mead School teacher banned from classrooms after allowing pupil to sleep in his home

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A former teacher who allowed a pupil to sleep in his home has been banned from the classroom for at least five years. Ravinder Bhandal, who worked as an art teacher at Rushey Mead School, in Leicester, from August 2003 to November 2010, also signed a consent form for another student to have a body piercing. Education Secretary Michael Gove imposed the teaching ban on the 47-year-old after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of "unacceptable professional conduct". The Teaching Agency panel found Bhandal had "failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries" towards the first student - known as Student A - and "behaved in an inappropriate manner" towards two others, Students B and C. The panel found that, in 2010, he gave Student A lifts in his car on more than one occasion. He once drove her back to his home and allowed her to sleep there without the consent or knowledge of her parents. "She confirmed that she stayed the night at his home," the panel found. "She slept in Mr Bhandal's bedroom and he slept on a couch in the living room. Mr Bhandal drove her to her parents' house the following day." Bhandal met Student B in Leicester city centre outside school hours and gave "parental consent" for her to have a piercing in either her stomach or her tongue. He also behaved in an inappropriate manner towards Student C on March 19, 2010, grabbing his bag and turning him round - actions which were "designed to make the pupil feel belittled and feel small," the panel said. "It may be that a number of students were behaving badly on March 19, 2010, but we have decided that his response was inappropriate towards Student C," they said. Recommending a prohibition order, the panel said Bhandal's conduct "fell significantly short of the standards expected of the teaching profession" and that he had shown little understanding of his actions upon pupils or parents, which gave "little confidence that he has learnt from this experience or that he has capacity to change in the future". However, the findings recommend that he should be allowed to seek a return to teaching after five years, adding: "Given time, Mr Bhandal may have a greater understanding of the need to demonstrate clear and unequivocal insight into the misconduct that has brought him to this panel." Backing the recommendation for a ban, Mr Gove said: "His behaviour was such that he failed to treat pupils with dignity and he failed to build relationships rooted in mutual respect. He did not observe proper boundaries. He also failed to safeguard pupils' well-being. "Mr Bhandal's conduct is a serious departure from the standard of conduct expected of a teacher. "Mr Bhandal does not appear to have shown insight into his behaviour nor remorse. His failures to respond to warnings about his behaviour mean that there is a risk that he will continue to behave in this way." The decision means that Bhandal is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England. He may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until April 2018. If he does so he, will have to persuade a panel that he is fit to return to the classroom. He has a right of appeal to the High Court. A further allegation that Bhandal supplied cigarettes, alcohol and cannabis to students in 2010 was not proved.

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