A former principal who slapped a pupil across the face has escaped being banned from the profession.

Frank Lewis, also known as “Rabbi Lewis”, admitted slapping a pupil once across the face in July 2017 when he was working as a Jewish studies teacher at Mesivta High School, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, a professional conduct panel heard.

Mr Lewis, who was principal at the school from 2005 to 2010 before being employed as a Jewish studies teacher, reported the incident himself to the school’s headteacher.

The matter was referred to Bury local authority, but the pupil and their parents said they did not want the matter to be referred to the police and were content for it to be dealt with internally by the school.

It was then referred to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) - the predecessor of the Teaching Regulation Agency - by the local authority.

Mr Lewis admitted to the Teaching Regulation Agency’s professional conduct panel that his conduct amounted to “unacceptable professional conduct”.

‘Regret and remorse’

But the panel said it would not be recommending that a prohibition order was imposed on Mr Lewis, as there were mitigating factors. They included more than 35 years’ service as a teacher with an otherwise unblemished record and a health condition which may have had an impact on his “uncharacteristic” behaviour.

“In all the circumstances, the panel concluded that the nature and severity of the behaviour is not at the most serious end of the spectrum,” the report states.

“In arriving at this conclusion, the panel placed particular emphasis on the insight shown by Mr Lewis and that fact that he has been open and honest about his actions.”

The report added that Mr Lewis could be an asset to the profession, given his experience, and said that he now had a far greater understanding and recognition of his health condition and the strategies required to manage it.

“Mr Lewis reassured the panel by outlining the steps he would take, such as reducing his workload, taking more exercise and rest so as to avoid placing himself in a similar situation in future,” the report says.

“In all the circumstances, the panel considered that the risk of repetition was extremely low given the integrity, insight, regret and remorse demonstrated by Mr Lewis.”

The secretary of state’s decision-maker, Dawn Dandy, accepted the panel’s recommendation that while Mr Lewis’s conduct fell “significantly short of the standards expected of the profession” it was not necessary to impose a ban in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.