Teacher was branded 'unsafe for children' after confiscating girl's phone in class: 'Traditionalist' sues headmistress
Jean Camurat had to take a restraining order out against one of his pupils
Then he lost his job after taking mobile from student using it in class
He's suing Thurrock Borough Council for £250,000
By Paul Bentley for the Daily Mail
Published: 18:25 BST, 9 July 2014 | Updated: 13:30 BST,
10 July 2014
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A teacher branded unsafe to work with children after he confiscated
a pupil's mobile phone is suing for £250,000.
Jean Camurat says his former headmistress left his professional reputation in tatters following the incident at a ‘challenging'
secondary school.
The language teacher, 59, told the High Court that discipline had
broken down to the extent that he had to take out a restraining order against one threatening pupil.
Jean Camurat who is suing Thurrock Borough Council following his dismissal from Aveley School in Essex
However, the court heard headteacher Teresa Walker opposed Mr Camurat's ‘traditional' methods and he was suspended, and his contract subsequently terminated, after
taking a pupil's phone.
‘It was alleged that I had assaulted a pupil in the course of confiscating a mobile telephone during a lesson,' Mr Camurat told Judge Sir Colin Mackay.
‘The school had a clear policy on confiscating mobiles.
I had repeatedly warned that the class should not use mobile phones
during a lesson and that I would confiscate them.
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‘I saw this particular pupil using her mobile and reached to confiscate it.
I did pull the phone when she did not let go [but] the
girl was not hurt.
‘I was suspended from work two weeks later.
Teresa Walker told me she was going to recommend dismissal for gross misconduct,' he said.
Mrs Walker who Mr Camurat clashed with over teaching methods,
and who he claims 'maliciously' provided false information about
him to the police which prevented him from getting a new job
Mr Camurat claims that Mrs Walker later breached the compromise agreement signed when he
left the school and gave false information to the
police, which made it ‘impossible' for him to get another permanent teaching post.
He is now suing Mrs Walker and the local authority, Thurrock Borough Council, claiming malicious
falsehood, breach of contract, misrepresentation and negligence.
He is seeking £250,000 in damages.
Both Mrs Walker and the council deny the accusations,
saying they acted entirely properly and were obliged,
when asked, to pass information about Mr Camurat
to the police before it made its way on to his Criminal Record Bureau file.
Mr Camurat's barrister, Ed Williams, told the judge that
the information ‘would cause the reasonable reader to form the view
that Mr Camurat should never work with children'.
The teacher was said to have taken part in a tug of war over a book, which hit a pupil in the face after Mr Camurat let go.
He was also accused of grabbing a girl's arm to stop her from leaving class to watch a fight in the corridor.
Mr Camurat denied wrongdoing in relation to any of the incidents, and has successfully applied to have his CRB record wiped clean of the disputed claims.
He told the judge: ‘When I started in the post I had five years' teaching experience, good references
and an unblemished disciplinary record at my previous schools.'
Aveley School in Essex was put in special measures in 2004,
the year after Mr Camurat joined as head of languages.
‘It was a tough school and I found aspects of behaviour-management challenging,' he said.
When he arrived, a ‘more old-fashioned' head was in charge, with whom he had a good
relationship - but Mr Camurat said Mrs Walker ‘favoured introducing
new educational techniques'.
After she became headmistress, staff split into ‘two factions'. Mr
Camurat told the court: ‘I spoke up in favour of a more traditional
approach.'
Explaining her attitude to physical discipline, Mrs
Walker told the judge: ‘Physical contact is best avoided.
I explained that at no time is it appropriate to touch
a child except in self-defence.'
She admitted there were a lot of disruptive pupils at the school during
Mr Camurat's tenure, but said Ormiston Park was ‘now considered to be a good school'.
She said she had not seen eye-to-eye with Mr Camurat over teaching techniques
but denied having a grudge against him.
‘I bear him no ill will,' she stressed.
Jonathan Auburn, for Mrs Walker and the council, defended their actions, saying: ‘Following a series of incidents involving physical interactions with children and later issues relating
to other staff, Mr Camurat left under a compromise agreement.
‘After he left, Mrs Walker and the council and responded to a request for information from police
by providing them with a document. The document, viewed as a whole, was broadly
accurate.'
Judgment was reserved.
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