Teacher blamed his Italian heritage for being ‘tactile’ with pupils
A former English teacher at a Kent state school who touched her pupils’ legs and instructed them to sing inappropriate song lyrics blamed her Italian heritage for making her “tactile”, a panel heard.
James Coltella had instructed students at Tonbridge School to sing parts of Charlie Puth’s song ‘Marvin Gaye’, with lyrics such as “king size ourselves” and “it’s a Karma Sutra show and tell”.
In a witness statement, one of the students said Mr. Coltella “walked up and down the line making eye contact.”
The professional governing body of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) heard Mr Coltella also touched two students’ shoulders, knees and legs during one-to-one meetings.
Student A said, “touching my knee also occurred when I was laughing, and I also remember the teacher touching my knee like my grandmother put her hand on me and rubbing her thumb to comfort me like someone would when I was crying.”
The student also said Mr. Coltella asked for a hug several times, which eventually led to them staying away from the teacher.
In November 2021, following a complaint regarding Student A, he was referred to TRA.
Documents at the hearing concluded: “The panel concluded that Mr. Coltella’s actions were serious, given the negative impact on Student A and Student B. In his dogged determination to achieve academic success for them, his methodologies were open to misinterpretation and failed to protect their welfare.”
Nine out of 25 allegations were found to be proven and his behavior amounted to serious misconduct.
But there were a number of positive character testimonials from teachers, parents and students who described him as “outstanding” and “inspiring”.
In a statement to the panel, Mr Coltella said: “My Italian heritage and upbringing encouraged a flamboyant attitude, but the need to consider how your actions are received by others is now clear.
“I have learned many lessons from this terrible situation and only want the best for others. There was never any malicious intent and I am deeply sorry for any emotional harm I may have caused.”
He also stated that it was “admirable that mistakes were made on my part” and expressed “regret for any emotional harm I may have inadvertently caused”:
The Board found that Mr. Coltella fell well short of the standards expected of the profession, but decided not to disqualify him from practicing.
