A teacher who had a sexual relationship with a pupil in her car has been struck off after a panel found she was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

Michelle Parry, who was known as Michelle Rande at the time of the incidents, has been banned from teaching indefinitely after a hearing by the Teaching Regulation Agency. 

During the panel, which was held virtually from November 29 to December 1, and at which Ms Parry was not present or represented, it was alleged the teacher had a sexual relationship with 'Person A' between April 2010 and March 2012, and performed oral sex on the former pupil in her car between April 2010 and July 2010.

Evidence also suggested that, between 2009 and 2012, Ms Parry failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with Person A by, amongst other things, inviting them to her home, giving them gifts and sending them inappropriate and/or sexual messages and images. 

It was also alleged that, between 2009 and 2011, she failed to maintain professional boundaries with another former pupil, 'Person B', by inviting them to her home, supplying them with alcohol and having conversations about personal matters, amongst other things. 

The panel found the allegations of a failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with Person A were proved in full, while they were satisfied that it was 'more likely than not' that the sexual relationship with Person A occurred, and therefore found these allegations proved.

Allegations of a failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with Person B were also proved in full. 

It was also found that when her relationship with Person A came to an end Ms Parry requested they delete all of the messages between them and said words to the effect of "you could get me in a lot of trouble" and "you could end my life and my career at any point". 

It was alleged that on April 6, 2022, Ms Parry sent a message Person A and Person B when she should have known that a referral had been made to the TRA and that contacting them would be inappropriate. 

The message said: “I am sorry more than you will ever know for the way I behaved. I could give you a list of all the reasons as to what led me to behave in such a way but that might be seen as excusing it. Know that I have felt sorry every day of my life since and I will never forgive myself. You deserved better."

Ms Parry had been notified of the TRA’s referral that same day and, while the panel considered the messages may have been misguided, in the absence guidance given to her not to contact any potential witnesses, they found them to be no more than Ms Parry expressing her remorse and said it did not amount to an inappropriate contact.

The hearing received evidence from both Person A and Person B whose individual accounts, including screenshots of messages with a now-deleted Facebook account alleged to be Ms Parry's, were found to corroborate one another. 

Person A and Person B had not remained close after they left school but, on 28 June 2021, they met up and discussed their experiences and decided they should make a referral to the TRA, which they both did on January 29, 2022. 

From the evidence, the panel was satisfied that Ms Parry was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and that her actions constituted conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

They said the findings were particularly serious as they include sexually motivated misconduct.

Ms Parry was banned from teaching indefinitely and, due to the the seriousness of the allegations proved against her, she cannot apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.