A TEACHER who chased and struck a pupil in the Springfields Academy in Calne has been banned from teaching indefinitely and given a criminal record.

Two months after handing in her resignation at the special educational school, calling working at there ‘intolerable’, former Mathematics teacher Lisa Hunnego exchanged words with one of her pupils before striking them on the shoulder.

Her actions, which took place on April 18, 2016, not only saw Ms Hunnego walk away with a criminal record, but also lose her job as a teacher indefinitely.

A professional conduct panel from the National College for Teaching and Leadership ruled on March 23 that the 47-year-old would not be allowed to teach in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in England, and the earliest she could apply for the indefinite ban to be lifted is March 27, 2020.

The panel’s decision follows one year after Ms Hunnego pleaded guilty for assault by beating at Chippenham Magistrates Court on March 8, where she was sentenced to a conditional discharge for 24 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £20 and costs of £250. The conditional discharge was later reduced to six months following a successful appeal.

They found that her actions constituted “misconduct of a serious nature which fell short of the standards expected of the profession.”

The report explained: “At the time of conduct found proved, Ms Hunnego had tendered her resignation to the school prior to this incident stating that “working at Springfields Academy has become intolerable.”

“There was no evidence that the teacher’s actions were not deliberate and the panel did not consider Ms Hunnego’s actions to have been conducted under duress.”

A spokesperson for Springfields Academy said: “We take the safeguarding of our students extremely seriously and in the incident in question, we suspended the member of staff immediately. She then left the school later that term.

“Situations of this kind are extremely rare, but it is important that schools act swiftly and decisively to ensure children and young people are kept safe.”