The number of teachers banned for life over sexual misconduct allegations has surged sixfold in the wake of the pandemic to a five-year high, i can reveal.
It has sparked calls for tougher scrutiny of online teaching to tackle an “epidemic of unacceptable behaviour”.
A third of teachers struck off across England last year were involved in sex-related misconduct, while a fifth were banned for life after being found to have breached boundaries or trust.
Figures released to i under the Freedom of Information Act show 35 teachers were handed prohibition orders by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) over sexual misconduct allegations in the year to March 2022, up from six the previous year. It marks the highest figure since the TRA began recording the statistics five years ago.
