A Christchurch teacher has had her registration cancelled after the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found she engaged in a sexual relationship with a student at the high school where she worked.

Ella Wilson, was charged with serious misconduct by the Complaints Assessment Committee following an investigation into her conduct while teaching at Cashmere High School in 2022.

The Tribunal said Wilson accepted the facts of the case and accepted liability.

The Tribunal said Wilson engaged in inappropriate communication with a student on social media before inviting him to her apartment, where sexual contact and sexual intercourse occurred in April 2022.

“Sexual relationships with students are invariably found to be serious misconduct,” the Tribunal said.

The Tribunal found Wilson’s conduct adversely affected student wellbeing, reflected poorly on her fitness to teach, and brought the teaching profession into disrepute. It said all legal tests for serious misconduct were met.

Wilson also admitted she had been dishonest with her employer when first questioned about the allegations, denying the relationship and claiming messages were sent from a fake account.

The Tribunal said cancellation of her registration was the appropriate penalty.

“As the Tribunal has stated in several other sexual relationship cases, cancellation will generally occur where a teacher has engaged in an intimate relationship with a student,” the decision said.

The Tribunal declined her request for permanent name suppression.

The Tribunal said suppressing Wilson’s name could unfairly cast suspicion on other teachers at the school and that concerns about her future employment did not outweigh the public interest in open justice.

The Tribunal ordered Wilson to contribute to the costs of the disciplinary process, requiring her to pay $1036 towards Complaints Assessment Committee costs and $600 towards Tribunal costs.

Wilson had previously signed an undertaking not to teach in July 2022, which remains in force.

The decision said teachers were trusted to work closely with children and young people, and maintaining professional boundaries was fundamental to public confidence in the education system.