Wolverhampton teacher banned from profession after 'inappropriately restraining' pupil
A teacher at a Wolverhampton centre for young people with behavioural needs has been banned from the profession after he was found to have 'inappropriately restrained' a pupil on a football pitch.
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A teacher misconduct panel found Olaf Stepnowski, who taught at the Braybrook Centre, Lawnswood Campus in Wolverhampton, most likely "swept the legs from underneath the pupil to move them to the floor."
The panel, held by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), found that although the student had acted aggressively towards Mr Stepnowski, the maths teacher had ample opportunity to de-escalate the incident without resorting to the physical action.
Mr Stepnowski, who had worked at the pupil referral unit since 2018, accused the system as being "morally corrupt" and did not attend the hearing.
He said in an email chain to Kingsley Napley solicitors: "The TRA investigation is out of my interest.
"I have no trust in any proceedings offered me by institution which are school related. To me the system is morally corrupt."
The panel was presented with evidence in favour of Mr Stepnowski, including CCTV images and three written statements detailing his side of the story, but members found it to be inconsistent.
The panel heard that he asked the pupil to "stop it" after the pupil shouted at him and attempted to push him over, but they ruled this was not an "effective attempt" to verbally de-escalate the situation. It also found that he could have called for other staff assistance or removed himself from the incident.
Although the school has an intervention policy, the panel ruled that the technique used by Mr Stepnowski was deemed "unnecessary", "inappropriate" and outside of that policy.
He had received advice from his employer regarding physical intervention with pupils on 'at least two separate occasions', leading the panel to find his actions to have been deliberate.
TRA chief executive Marc Cavey was satisfied Mr Stepnowski was guilty of "unacceptable professional misconduct" and prohibited him from teaching indefinitely.
He authorised a two-year review period, after which Mr Stepnowski may appeal for the prohibition order to be removed.
The Braybrook Centre has been approached for a comment.
