Sacked St Kevin’s teacher Simon Parris loses bid to return
A St Kevin’s College teacher sacked after hugging students and downloading pornography won’t get his job back after his appeal was rejected.
Education
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Disgraced St Kevin’s teacher Simon Parris will not be returning to the Kew boys’ school.
Mr Parris lost his unfair dismissal case before a full bench of the Fair Work Commission on Thursday because of his inappropriate behaviour and treatment of a student.
Three commissioners concluded that there were valid reasons for his sacking and dismissed the appeal.
The behaviour included Mr Parris’ hug of a student in June 2019 and its effect on the boy and a tweet about a “wet dream” which breached the school’s code of conduct. Mr Parris was also found to have stored and viewed hardcore pornography on a school laptop.
The full bench upheld his appeal in relation to findings of dishonesty and the absence of procedural fairness.
However, this was balanced by the conduct of Mr Parris, which they found still constituted a dismissal offence.
The school’s handling of the case has come under the spotlight following evidence former principal Stephen Russell provided Mr Parris with a “generally positive” character reference, even after his sexual misconduct came to light.
The news was met with relief from members of the school community. A source from inside the school had previously said parents would “blockade his entry to the school” if Mr Parris was reinstated.
A parent told the Herald Sun said the finding was “a relief and now we can all move on”.