Chemistry teacher banned for 'inappropriate relationship' with pupil at Liverpool girls school

A chemistry teacher at a prestigious school has been banned from the profession after it was found he was having an inappropriate relationship with a pupil, which turned sexual shortly after she left.

Thomas Moss was a chemistry teacher and head of Year 10 at The Belvedere Academy girls' school in Princes Park, Liverpool, where he met the pupil .

An investigation by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found that Moss had messaged the pupil (referred to as Pupil A in the report) via WhatsApp, met up with her outside of the school, and invited her into his home.

The panel also heard that Moss began a sexual relationship with Pupil A in September 2021, four months after she left the school.

He was suspended in March 2022, after concerns were raised about his relationship with a pupil. He then went onto resign in May 2022.

Following the academy's own disciplinary process, the school referred Mr Moss, 29, to the Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA).

The TRA's disciplinary panel met on 4 December 2023 to consider his case and whether he should be banned from teaching in the future.

Mr Moss did not attend the hearing, and denies the allegations.

The panel were not able to see the WhatsApp messages themselves, and instead relied on Pupil A's witness testimony.

Pupil A said in her witness statement that she and Mr Moss communicated by WhatsApp after she asked someone else for his number.

The panel considered that the use of WhatsApp "indicated that the professional boundaries between teacher and pupil were blurred."

The report stated: "Those boundaries should have continued to have been maintained for a reasonable period after Pupil A left the Academy given the nature of the relationship that existed whilst she was a pupil of the Academy."The panel also looked over 150 pages of emails exchanged between Pupil A and Mr Moss, describing the volume of exchanges as "excessive."

The panel did not necessarily consider that it was inherently inappropriate to send an email out of Academy hours provided an immediate response was not expected. However, exchanges back and forth, late at night, between Mr Moss and Pupil A "were inappropriate."The report stated: "The exchange of emails between teacher and pupil late at night, without the presence of others, was inappropriate. The panel considered that the tone, quantity and timing of the emails indicated that Mr Moss had engaged in and/or developed an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A."Pupil A's statement referred to having "started to meet up alone occasionally" with Mr Moss. She said that after a while they got food together. 

Mr Moss stated that he had met with Pupil A after she had left the Academy and after she had received his telephone number.The panel found that it was more probable than not that Mr Moss had invited Pupil A to and/or allowed Pupil A inside his home accommodation on one or more occasions.In her witness statement, Pupil A said: "We started dating around September time and I can’t really remember how it happened. I do know that we were just good friends and got on very well, so it just developed naturally. In or around September the relationship became intimate and we continued dating until it ended in December 2021.”The panel found that it was more probable than not that Mr Moss had engaged in sexual activity with Pupil A shortly after she was no longer on the roll of the Academy. 

The panel considered that Mr Moss "had engaged in and/or developed an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A by engaging in sexual activity with Pupil A shortly after she was no longer on the school roll."In its findings, the TRA panel said it was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Moss in relation to the facts found proved, involved breaches of the Teachers’ Standards.

In his own representations to the panel, Mr Moss, who now intends to continue in a different career, recognised that he made mistakes and took decisions that he would not make again, but maintains that he sometimes “did the right thing in supporting [Pupil A]”He stated that “at no point were my actions done to cause harm or were they sexually motivated”. He has said that he is “sorry for everything but the opinions put out there by some people that I am some sort of monster who planned everything is completely false”.Mr Moss also stated: "The person I was two years ago is long gone and buried, he was not a bad person but he made some stupid mistakes but with the best intentions, naivety and a desire to be wanted probably sums him up best.”Mr Moss stated that "he felt that he put a gap between the position of trust and starting a relationship with her (between June and September).” The panel said it considered Mr Moss to have been naïve in this respect and ought to have understood the need to maintain professional barriers for a reasonable time after Pupil A had left the Academy.

Having heard the evidence, the TRA panel made a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Education that a prohibition order should be imposed with immediate effect, banning Mr Moss from teaching in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in England.The prohibition order applies for life.

In a statement following the judgement of the TRA, The Belvedere Academy said: "When concerns about Mr Moss’ behaviour were raised last year, he was immediately reported to the authorities, and suspended from the school. 

"Following his suspension and the conclusion of a full investigation in line with internal procedures, he was subsequently dismissed and we referred the case to the Teaching Regulation Agency and the Disclosure and Barring Service."

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