Hartlepool school where shamed teacher worked says 'strict safeguarding procedures' were followed

Sides, now 28, has been banned from the classroom for life after admitting engaging in sexual activity with a teenage boy he met via a social media dating app.

Hartlepool’s Eldon Grove Academy, where he was employed at the time, said he was “suspended immediately the allegations came to light” and that it worked closely with all relevant authorities during subsequent investigations.

It has also reiterated the Teaching Regulation Agency’s (TRA) findings that Sides’s actions took place out of school and did not involve one of the school’s pupils.

A school spokesman said: “The teacher was suspended immediately the allegations came to light and strict safeguarding procedures were followed.

“The school worked closely with the police and local authority and invoked disciplinary procedures, including an investigation, which led to his subsequent dismissal.

“There was no evidence of professional misconduct occurring in the school.

"As the report highlights, the incidents occurred outside of school and did not involve a pupil of the school.”

Eldon Grove was classed as “good”, the second highest of four grades, following its last full Ofsted report in 2019.

The official report following the TRA investigation into Sides’s behaviour with the child – known as Child A - notes: “The panel noted that the allegations took place outside the education setting in that Mr Sides met Child A via an online dating app and met him outside of working hours.

"The panel also noted that Child A was not a pupil of the school.”

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