A man who taught at a school in Lichfield has been banned from the classroom.

A professional conduct panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership in Coventry heard that Paul Mansell had exchanged messages with a pupil on Snapchat in 2013 and used a psuedonym to communicate with her through social media, but he denied this amounted to an “inappropriate relationship”.

The panel said that Mansell – who was a PE teacher at The Friary School following his training at Perryfields High School in Oldbury – had initially been dismissed following an investigation, but the decision was overturned on appeal and he was issued with a final written warning.

A report from the panel recognised that he was a well-regarded and competent teacher, and added that the consquences of a ban would be “devastating” for him – but said the reputation of teaching needed to be upheld.

Alan Meyrick, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, said Mansell would be able to apply for the indefinite prohibition order to be set aside in May 2018.

Mr Meyrick added: “Mr Mansell is guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. His misconduct was of a serious nature falling significantly short of the standards of behaviour expected of a teacher.

“He failed to treat pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and he failed to observe proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position.

“I agree with the panel that Mr Mansell failed, repeatedly, to maintain the high standards of conduct expected of a teacher and that he acted in a way which put at risk the trust the public placed in the profession.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.