A teacher who sent WhatsApp messages on his phone about personal issues while driving a minibus carrying pupils has been sacked but has escaped being banned from the profession. Stuart Balfour, former head of sport at St Edmund’s School, Hindhead, Surrey, a private school, accepted that his behaviour amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
Incident Details
On 21 November 2023, concerns were raised about Mr Balfour’s welfare after he allegedly engaged in an argument with a witness, according to a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency. He then drove around 13 children to a football match on the A3, a journey of about 40 minutes, during which he used his phone to send one or more messages. The minibus log showed it travelled at up to 62 mph. Mr Balfour described how he dictated WhatsApp messages while driving and did not pick up his mobile phone at any point, but he touched the screen of his phone, which was in a drinks cup holder, while driving. In his evidence, he said this was like using a satnav system or radio.
Concerns Raised
The panel heard that a witness became sufficiently concerned for Mr Balfour’s welfare and for pupil safety that he travelled to the location of the match with another individual to relieve Mr Balfour of his duties and remove him from the situation. In his evidence, Mr Balfour described how he needed to take his hand off the steering wheel to touch the WhatsApp icon and make a refined movement to hit that icon correctly. The panel said this would involve him taking his focus entirely away from the road and noted that when replying to messages, he needed to look at and touch the screen many times.
Consequences
Six days later, the school suspended Mr Balfour, and at a disciplinary meeting five months later, he was dismissed. The panel considered his sending messages to be a very serious failure and serious misconduct and that he had risked pupil safety because he was driving with reduced attention. It said he was in breach of standards that state teachers must uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour by having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ wellbeing.
Character References
However, nine character references praised his teaching manner, dedication and sense of responsibility. One said: “Stuart has never been anything other than remorseful about the whole incident as this has had a profound impact on him. He understands he was stupid but this was entirely out of character for him.” Another former colleague said Mr Balfour “formed trusting and respectful relationships with colleagues and students alike, which speaks to his honesty and integrity” and “the fantastic relationships he formed with pupils demonstrate his excellent understanding of safeguarding as well as his adherence to the school’s policies and the teachers’ standards”.
Panel Decision
The panel found that Mr Balfour’s actions constituted conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. But it said the incident was isolated and that there was evidence of reflection and remediation such that the panel assessed the risk of repetition to be very low. “The publication of the findings made would be sufficient to send an appropriate message to the teacher as to the standards of behaviour that were not acceptable,” it concluded. Mr Balfour denied being emotionally unfit to drive, and this claim was not proven.
