Primary school head banned after inappropriate remarks to female staff

Primary school head who called female colleagues ‘the pretty one’ and ‘the blonde one’ is hit with teaching ban

• Paul Scott, 54, made a string of inappropriate remarks to female teachers
• The Arboretum Primary head teacher was banned indefinitely by the TRA
• He called his female staff the ‘blonde one’ and ‘the pretty one who lost the baby’
• Scott also referred to one of his colleagues as being ‘on the spectrum bus’

A head teacher who referred to his staff as the ‘blonde one’, ‘the good-looking one’ and ‘the pretty one who lost the baby’ has been banned from the classroom.

Paul Scott, 54, made a string of inappropriate remarks to female teachers at Arboretum Primary in Derby, including telling one: ‘I can see you’ve got your big pants on today.’

A tribunal was told that when one asked Scott what she could do to reach a higher pay band, he replied: ‘Seeing you in your underwear would be a really good start.’

He referred to colleagues as being ‘on the spectrum bus’ and told another teacher: ‘You’ve really let yourself go since you got married.’

A pregnant colleague was allegedly asked if she was behaving in a certain way ‘because she was hormonal’.

Arboretum Primary head teacher Paul Scott, 54, who referred to his staff as the ‘blonde one’, ‘the good-looking one’ and ‘the pretty one who lost the baby’, has been banned from teaching by the Teaching Regulation Agency. Arboretum Primary School in Derby is pictured

One witness told a Teaching Regulation Agency disciplinary hearing in Coventry she ‘got the impression’ Scott categorised women ‘based on whether they were attractive or not’.

The TRA banned the head indefinitely after ruling he had committed unacceptable professional conduct. He cannot reapply to the teaching register until at least November 2024.

The TRA axed the headteacher from the profession after ruling he had committed unacceptable professional conduct.

Panel chair Roger Woods said: ‘The panel’s findings against Mr Scott involved inappropriate comments and behaviour of an inappropriate, unprofessional and derogatory nature in relation to various staff members but also, in some instances pupils.’

One told the hearing she ‘felt like a piece of meat’ after Mr Scott commented on her outfit. Another said: ‘One day I was carrying dinosaur pictures and Mr Scott was looking so I said ‘What is it? What are you looking at?”.

“He said something like “I’m distracted, you have pictures of dinosaurs on your breasts”. I just left after he said this.”

After the hearing in Coventry was told how he had commented on another colleague’s ‘old lady hands’, Mr Scott apologised for making what the tribunal said was an ‘unbecoming’ comment.

The ruling added: ‘Mr Scott therefore admitted that this was inappropriate and unprofessional and therefore admitted this aspect of allegation.’

Another staff member recalled how she was cradling guinea pigs when Scott entered the room and said: ‘They’re a nice pair of guinea pigs, I’d like to give them a squeeze.’

The TRA banned the head indefinitely after ruling he had committed unacceptable professional conduct. He cannot reapply to the teaching register until at least November 2024

Scott, who had a previously unblemished teaching record, was found to have made all the comments on the balance of probability.

He was found guilty by the tribunal of making inappropriate comments and physical contact with staff members. He was also found to have sexually harassed one woman.

Mr Woods concluded: ‘As a headteacher and leader, Mr Scott had a responsibility for and a duty of care towards his staff and pupils. He was also a role model. He had clearly fallen short of his obligations and duties in this regard in relation to each of these allegations.

‘As well as impacting upon individual staff members and referring to some pupils in a derogatory manner, his actions created a culture at the School which was unacceptable and corrosive.’

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