A teacher has been barred from the profession for life after a disciplinary panel found he threw a pupil through an open doorway onto a playground.
The Incident and Immediate Aftermath
Joseph Luttman was teaching at Marland School in Barnstaple when the assault occurred. The panel heard that during a lesson, two pupils were chasing each other around the classroom. Luttman admitted to pushing Pupil A, causing him to fall to the floor. When the child got up, Luttman pushed him into another pupil twice.
The teacher's actions escalated significantly when he then picked up Pupil A by his right arm and shoulder. Using both arms, Luttman lifted the child and threw him out of an open doorway into an outside garden area, where the pupil landed on his back.
The incident came to light after Pupil A's mother emailed the school on 7 September 2023. She asked for an explanation of what had happened and queried why she had not been asked to sign an accident form. The following day, she sent another email alleging her son had been hurt by a staff member, resulting in bruises, scrapes, and marks on his body and head.
Investigation and Admission of Guilt
A multi-agency strategy meeting was quickly convened, involving school officials, the Local Authority Designated Officer, and the police. In January 2024, Luttman accepted a police caution for assault by beating, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
He later cooperated with the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), agreeing for the allegations to be dealt with without a hearing. Luttman provided a signed statement of agreed facts, in which he admitted to unacceptable professional conduct.
Further disturbing details emerged from the investigation. When Pupil A attempted to tell his mother about the incident while in a car seat, Luttman poked and tickled the child in an apparent attempt to distract him. The school's initial response, from an assistant head teacher, downplayed the event, suggesting the teacher and pupil had simply "bumped into each other" and "had a giggle about it." A subsequent email confirmed Luttman had not reported the collision and had used tickling to stop the pupil from reporting it.
Panel Findings and Lifetime Ban
The professional conduct panel reviewed CCTV footage and concluded that Luttman's use of force was not reasonable. They stated his physical actions were "threatening and intimidating" and a clear breach of safeguarding guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education.
The panel found he had fallen "significantly short of the standards expected of the profession" and that it was "inappropriate for him to have sought to distract Pupil A from reporting the incident to his mother."
As a result, Joseph Luttman has been prohibited from teaching indefinitely and is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. This lifetime ban underscores the severe consequences for educators who violate safeguarding principles and physically harm children in their care.
