Assistant headteacher at top secondary school sacked after giving out award making fun of student's 'sexual assault' - two years after he was branded a 'risk to children' by council official
Nick Barends lost his claim for unfair dismissal from The Blue Coat School in 2023 - making it the second time he lost his job at the institution in Wavertree.
In 2010, Mr Barends was dismissed over his conduct with an A-level student that was considered an 'inappropriate relationship'.
Despite the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) concluding that Mr Barends 'remained a risk to children', he was reinstated by a panel of governors and continued teaching at the school.
Two years later, Mr Barends was accused of handing out an award at prom making fun of a student's complaint about a sexual assault.
He was accused of handing out an award to the student 'you would least like to share a taxi with' to a male pupil who had been accused of sexually assaulting a female pupil in the back of a taxi - with the alleged victim of the assault in the audience at the time.
In 2022, the alleged victim came forward to raise her concerns about Mr Barends' continued presence at the school and she provided testimony to the tribunal.
The fresh allegations about the senior leader's behaviour at the prom led to a new disciplinary process - resulting in his dismissal a year later.
During the six day tribunal at the Liverpool Civil and Family Courts there were frequent references to the previous disciplinary situation he had faced at the school.
Mr Barends' representative Darren Webb sought to suggest that the award had been simply titled 'the Liverpool Taxi award' and was related to the pupil either being sick in a taxi or having a disagreement with a taxi driver.
But this was disputed by Simon Gorton, the lawyer for The Blue Coat School.
Mr Gorton said: 'Why would the event, if it did not involve improper sexual behaviour and was merely for alienating a taxi driver, have any prominence two years later?
'Why would that in-joke be met with hilarity and approbation from some? The answer is because it was a direct reference to a sexual event.'
Judge Ainscough stated that the tribunal found that Mr Barends was in fact guilty of gross misconduct and that he did in fact know about the sexual assault when handing out the award at the prom event in 2012.
She told Mr Barends that the school 'could not have had 'any trust or confidence in your continued employment' before dismissing both claims of unfair dismissal and breach of contract.
Following the result, a spokesperson for The Blue Coat School said: 'While we are pleased that we have an outcome that vindicates our decision to dismiss the member of staff; and, that it draws a line under this issue.
'The judge found the school has acted wholly appropriately over recent years in respect of this case but today is not about celebrating.
'At the heart of this tribunal is a former female pupil who came forward to share her experiences. It is her actions that enabled this case to reach a just conclusion, and her bravery and co-operation should rightly be acknowledged
'We are deeply sorry that this individual feels like she has been let down by some staff in the past, and hope that today continues to provide her with both some closure and reassurance that she has been heard. We will also continue to work tirelessly to ensure that no such issue will happen again in the future.
'We will also ensure that organisations like the Teaching Regulation Agency are fully aware of the tribunal outcome.'
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