A teacher accused of singing Let’s Talk About Sex to a 12-year-old girl has been banned from the classroom.
Former Army radar technician Alec Munday was also alleged to have used inappropriate sexual language, causing distress to a child, and had inappropriate conversations with pupils while working as a teacher in north Wales.
The General Teaching Council for Wales heard Mr Munday was said to have sung from Jessie J’s hit Domino while supervising a lunchtime ICT session. He said he only knew the line ‘take me down like (I’m) a domino.’
Presenting officer Lousha Bryl told the professional conduct committee: ‘The lyrics contain sexual language and the song is about a sexual encounter. There was a mixed range of ages that attended this lunchtime club.’
Mr Munday, 47, faced four allegations, all found to be proved, and the committee said they amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
Imposing a prohibition order, committee chairman Steve Powell said Mr Munday had expressed genuine regret and apologised.
He said: ‘Although his actions were inappropriate there was no sexual or ulterior motive.’
In May 2012 the temporary teacher at a school in Llangefni, Anglesey, was alleged to have used inappropriate sexual language causing distress to a girl, and to have sung an inappropriate song containing sexual language in the presence of pupils.
Married Mr Munday told the GTCW at Ewloe he was listening to the radio and singing along to tunes at Ysgol Gyfun, Llangefni.
He said he sang lyrics from the Jessie J hit Domino during a lunchtime ICT session but only knew the line ‘Take me down like (I’m) a domino’.
He said: ‘I didn’t sing the whole song. I only knew the closing line of the chorus.
‘I wouldn’t consider it to be inappropriate, just a pop song.’
He said: ‘I wasn’t in a formal teaching mode. I didn’t say “come into my class and listen to my singing”.’
Mr Munday accepted singing Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit Call Me Maybe but disputed singing Let’s Talk About Sex by Salt-n-Pepa and could not remember if he sang Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears.
He said: ‘It was whatever came on the radio basically.’
Miss Bryl said ‘Pupil A’, 12, felt the words of the Salt-n-Pepa song Let’s Talk About Sex were directed at her.
But Mr Munday said what happened had been misinterpreted and came about because of another girl’s ’email signature’ which stated: ‘I want your body.’
The teacher had told this pupil she could not put that and in a raised voice said: ‘It’s like me ending emails with “yours sincerely Mr Munday, I want to have sex with you”.’
Representing himself, Mr Munday said to the GTCW panel: ‘I felt I needed to make a shocking response. I used a shocking analogy.’
Mr Powell said: ‘Mr Munday said he used the language he did to shock the pupil to make her appreciate the inappropriateness of the words. He acknowledges his words may have been overheard by a pupil and, if misinterpreted, may have caused her distress.
‘We are satisfied Mr Munday’s language was inappropriate and unprofessional even though we accept his intention wasn’t to cause distress.’
Deputy headmaster Alwyn Pritchard said Pupil A’s mother rang and said her daughter had returned home upset by what the teacher allegedly said to her. Mr Munday resigned a few days later.
The previous January, while a supply teacher at Darland High School, Rossett, Wrexham, Mr Munday was accused of inappropriate conversations with pupils.
Two Year 10 ‘model pupils’, had claimed he discussed his first sexual encounter and sang I’m Sexy And I Know.
Pupils took it as sexual innuendo and burst into laughter.
Mr Munday said: ‘I heard the laughter and realised it was about what I said.
‘I wasn’t trying to be sexual, I was trying to talk about the drawing. It all came out wrong.’
