A former teacher who engaged in sexual relationships with two students, resulting in a pregnancy with one of them, has been permanently barred from teaching. Rebecca Joynes, aged 31, began teaching at the students’ school in 2018, instructing students aged 11 to 18. The students, identified as Pupil A and Pupil B, were taught math by Joynes when they were in Year 11.
Legal proceedings commenced in October 2021, revealing sexual encounters, including intercourse, between Joynes and Pupil A on October 15, 2021. Following this discovery, Joynes was suspended from her teaching position and placed under bail conditions by the police.
Despite the bail conditions, Joynes engaged in communication with Pupil B, aged 15, in late 2021. In January 2022, sexual interactions occurred between Joynes and Pupil B on two occasions. Subsequently, starting in February 2022 after Pupil B turned 16, there were ongoing sexual encounters, including intercourse, until June 2022 when Pupil B left school. In March 2023, Joynes became pregnant with Pupil B’s child, and the relationship ended in June 2023.
Joynes was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in July at Manchester Crown Court for six sexual offenses against the two students. The Teaching Regulation Agency panel, chaired by Philip Thompson, highlighted the severe and potentially enduring harm caused by Joynes’ actions towards the students.
The panel emphasized the lack of remorse or insight shown by Joynes, indicating a risk of repeated misconduct that could jeopardize the well-being of future students. Consequently, Marc Cavey, representing the Education Secretary, imposed a lifelong ban on Joynes from the teaching profession due to the gravity of the offenses committed, involving sexual activity with minors.