A teacher has been banned from the classroom for life after striking a pupil with a ruler. Farooq Ahmed, 58, was handed a police caution and prohibited from teaching indefinitely following the incident at Oasis Academy Lister Park in Bradford on 24 November 2023.
The teacher was also found guilty of pushing and kicking a chair on which a second pupil was sitting. The assault was captured on CCTV and reviewed after two female students reported the matter to the school’s assistant principal. Ahmed had been teaching at the academy for less than three months, having started on 1 September 2023.
West Yorkshire Police issued Ahmed a conditional caution for assault by beating, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. He resigned from his role on the same day, 15 January 2024. An investigation by the Teaching Regulation Agency concluded last month that Ahmed “fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.”
During the investigation, 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 showed a “deliberate flicking movement of the ruler” that made contact with the pupil’s arm. The panel noted that prior to the incident, Ahmed appeared agitated and confrontational, moving around the classroom and standing unnecessarily close to pupils.
The panel concluded that Ahmed posed a considerable risk to the teaching profession and barred him indefinitely. He may request a review of the prohibition order after two years.
