Farah Belkhelfa

Introduction

Farah Belkhelfa is a former modern foreign languages teacher at Ormiston SWB Academy in Wolverhampton who was banned from teaching in May 2024 after a Teaching Regulation Agency panel found she had acted inappropriately toward a youth on a public school bus, pulling his balaclava, hitting him, pushing and kicking him with her foot, and biting him. The panel found her guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute, and decision maker Marc Cavey prohibited her from teaching indefinitely with a two-year review period. Belkhelfa admitted the facts but said she acted in self-defence; she did not attend the hearing and was not represented.

Background Information

Belkhelfa taught modern foreign languages at Ormiston SWB Academy. On 8 April 2022 — the last day of the spring term — she travelled home on a public bus with pupils, including a group of her own students who shouted greetings at her. She described feeling extremely uncomfortable at the noise and attention, and told the group she could sanction silly and confrontational behaviour even outside school. A youth in a balaclava, not a pupil at the academy, shouted expletives at her; students filmed on their phones as the exchange escalated into a physical altercation. The school investigated, reviewing the phone footage and interviewing witnesses, and referred her to the TRA. In her response to the notice of referral in January 2023 she admitted the alleged facts but denied acting inappropriately, saying she acted in self-defence.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Findings vs. facts. Belkhelfa admitted the physical acts but disputed that they were inappropriate. The panel found the allegation proved in full on the evidence, including video footage; no criminal charge appears in the published record.

The panel viewed the phone footage itself and observed Belkhelfa pulling at Child A’s balaclava with force — his head pulled forward — and grappling with him, in what a witness described as “almost a headlock”. The investigation officer noted students chanting “weirdo” and goading the situation. Belkhelfa’s own account, given during the school’s disciplinary process, was that she became physical to make Child A stop, that he then assaulted her, and that she bit his shoulder and pushed him with her foot to get free as she struggled to breathe with his arms pressed against her chest. The panel accepted her account was admissible but found her initial approach — telling pupils she could sanction behaviour outside school — helped escalate the incident, and found all four particulars proved: the balaclava-pulling, the hitting, the pushing and kicking, and the biting. It found the offence of violence relevant and her conduct both unacceptable professional conduct and disrepute.

Public Reaction and Consequences

No press coverage attaches to the case; the published decision is the public record. Phone footage of the bus incident circulated among pupils at the time, and the school’s investigation and dismissal followed within the academic year. The panel treated the case as a one-off in intimidating circumstances, accepting the profound impact she described and finding little risk of repetition, while noting she lacked the skills for managing such situations and that insight remained to be developed. It recommended a two-year review period notwithstanding the Advice’s indication that violence cases warrant longer, and Cavey adopted that, finding two years proportionate and sufficient time to develop the insight and skills to ensure the misconduct is not repeated.

Current Status

Belkhelfa is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 24 May 2026 — two years from the date the order comes into effect — at the earliest. That is not an automatic right: if she applies, a panel will consider whether the order should be set aside, and without a successful application she remains prohibited indefinitely. The determination is dated 14 May 2024, with the order dated 17 May 2024, effective from service. She retains a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice; the published record shows none was filed.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Belkhelfa’s case is the rare teacher-ban arising from conduct toward a non-pupil in a public setting — but the regulator’s jurisdiction followed directly from her asserted authority over the group and her presence with students on the bus. The panel’s finding threads a narrow line: it accepted she was goaded and felt intimidated, yet concluded that a teacher responding to verbal abuse by pulling off a youth’s balaclava, hitting, kicking and biting him cannot stand, whatever the provocation. Her self-defence claim failed not because her account was disbelieved but because the initial intervention was itself found inappropriate. The two-year review gate marks the case as a one-off rather than a pattern. For teachers the case underlines that the moment a teacher invokes disciplinary authority outside school, the profession’s standards follow.

Sources

• Dept for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Miss Farah Belkhelfa” — source