Teacher who grabbed colleague’s bottom and called it ‘banter’ banned from the classroom

Teacher who grabbed colleague’s bottom and called it ‘banter’ banned from the classroom Leon Osbourne also called a female colleague ‘hot stuff’ in text messages - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments A teacher who told his colleague he he wanted to be “squeezed” by her, the same way that she “squeezed” a disregulated pupil she was supporting has been banned from the classroom. Leon Osbourne made the comments in October 2023 while working at Octavia House School in Essex as a support worker, according to a report from the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). The 35-year-old had a slew of complaints made against him by four separate staff members, including telling them he “loved it when [she] was bent over” and grabbed one’s bottom before telling her he “wished he’d done it sooner”. During his hearing, Mr Osbourne, who worked at the school between 2015 and 2023, denied blowing kisses at one staff member and claimed the movement was because his moustache tickled his nostrils. The woman told the panel on one occasion Mr Osbourne had told her he wanted to be “squeezed” by her the same way she “squeezed” a pupil, who she said she had hugged in order to support them because they were becoming disregulated. He also denied telling the same woman he “loved it when [she] was bent over” and hinting at her to turn around while she was teaching so he could “look at [her] bum”. But the panel found the allegations proven, calling them “plainly inappropriate and unprofessional”. The panel also heard Mr Osbourne grabbed a second staff member’s bottom before texting her saying he got “overexcited”. In the messages, he described it as “flirty/banter? Thingy that we have going on (which I’m loving by the way (heart eyes emoji)” and said “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to not be banter though”. Mr Osbourne went on to call the woman a “sexy beast” and “hot stuff” in a text message on a separate occasion, and kiss her neck in a third incident. A third woman also told the panel Mr Osbourne had made comment about her bottom, told her that her private area was “soft”, and asked if she enjoyed performing oral sex, all of which the panel found proved. In its decision, the panel said Mr Osbourne had enacted a “repeated pattern of sexualised comments and inappropriate physical contact towards four female colleagues over a long period of time. “That pattern included touching colleagues’ bottoms, attempting to kiss colleagues, asking sexual questions, making sexualised comments about colleagues’ bodies and clothing, and using terms such as “hot stuff” and “sexy beast”.” It added some of the behaviour had taken place in the presence of pupils, which it said “increased the seriousness” of the conduct. Mr Osbourne was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. He was prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments