A college lecturer compared a junior colleague’s breasts to buns, sent her texts of a sexual nature and encouraged students to take photos of her up a ladder, a professional standards hearing has heard. Stephen Barrett also implied he wanted to insert a nine inch paint roller into her during two and a half years of alleged behaviour which left her “traumatised”, the Education Workforce Council Wales panel was told.

The fitness to practise committee heard that problems reportedly started soon after the alleged victim, referred to as “colleague A” to protect her identity, began work at the Pencoed campus of Bridgend College in 2018. Matters came to a head in early 2022 when she made an official complaint about Mr Barrett.

Giving evidence in person to the virtual hearing, colleague A said she hadn't complained straight away because she felt the lecturer's alleged behaviour towards her was somehow “my fault”. But colleague A, who started the job six months after leaving school, said she finally felt she had endured what he considered “banter” for long enough and said it was wrong to be “sexualised at work”. To get all the latest Welsh news sent straight to your inbox sign up here

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Describing one alleged incident when she said Mr Barrett compared her breasts to buns, she told the committee: “A colleague brought him two Belgian buns in a box and he compared the cakes to my breasts. This made me uncomfortable.”

On another occasion she claimed when they were in a department tool store he made crude gestures and comments aimed at her with a paint roller. She alleged the lecturer pulled out a four inch roller and a nine inch roller and told her: “This one is too small for you, but this one is just right” as he pointed the longer roller at her making a popping sound.

“I told him not to say that. It made me feel uncomfortable," she told the hearing. On another occasion she claimed Mr Barrett had asked her to fetch something from up a ladder. When she was about 10ft up he called students over and suggested they take photos, she told the hearing on November 7.

“Stuart Barrett was at the bottom of the ladder. I was wearing a t-shirt and leggings. He was aware I was nervous up ladders and called students to the bottom saying “boys, take pictures of [Colleague A] on this ladder.

“I was humiliated. As far as I’m aware no-one took pictures, but they were laughing.” On another occasion she claimed the lecturer, who she worked with, but was not her line manager, had suggested she take her bra off when a wire from it tore through the t-shirt she was wearing. Colleague A claimed Mr Barrett had also criticised her work in front of students.

“I felt angry. I felt it was my fault it kept happening because I had kept quiet,” she told the committee. The panel heard she had also texted Mr Barrett, but she said this was only in a professional capacity such as letting him know she would be late for work.

The panel heard that during this time colleague A was also being investigated over the standard of her work. But she denied she lodged a complaint against Mr Barrett to deflect from the investigation into her own work performance.

Asked about her delay complaining, she told the panel: “I fully understood what was happening was wrong. I was thinking “he’s got a job and a family” and thinking about it I knew it was going to cause an investigation that could result in him losing his job. I was worried about his wellbeing. Although he was not worried about my wellbeing.”

Colleague A had requested Mr Barrett’s video be switched off while she gave evidence at the virtual hearing and that his questions to her were asked through a third person. Mr Barrett, who was not represented, asked a series of questions through counsel Martin Jones.

Mr Jones asked Colleague A whether it was in fact true she had started talking about her breasts first, during the alleged comments made when the cakes had been brought in, which she denied. She also denied that it was she who suggested taking her bra off when a wire came out of it.

She agreed she had said “boo” to surprise Mr Barrett when he was carrying a load of papers in the workroom. She also agreed there were occasions where they had laughed and joked together at work.

But she said his alleged comments and actions went too far: “I was being sexualised at work when I was trying to do my job and that made me feel uncomfortable.”

Giving evidence to the hearing, Rachel Edmonds-Naish, the then head of curriculum for construction at Bridgend College, and now assistant principal at Coleg y Cymoedd, said she had carried out the investigation into Colleague A’s complaints. She said that during this time a mature student had claimed Mr Barrett had made inappropriate comments to students as well as homophobic name calling and comments about students’ mothers.

She said she had seen texts between Mr Barrett and Colleague A and “they did not seem reciprocal” from her point of view. An investigation had been launched in early 2022 after the complaints were made.

Mr Barrett handed in his notice on April 6, 2022 and two days later left his job at the college, she told the hearing. Mr Barrett denies all but one of the allegations against him.

He accepted he had sent a text of a sexual nature to Colleague A, but denied making comments of a sexual nature, commenting on Colleague A’s work in front of students, encouraging students to take photos of her up a ladder or making offensive comments to Colleague A in front of students.

The lecturer faces the following allegations that:

1. Between October 2019 and February 2022, he displayed intimidating and/or hostilebehaviour towards Colleague A, in that he:

a) Sent one or more text message(s) of a sexual nature; and/or

b) Made comments of a sexual nature; and/or

c) Commented on the standard of Colleague A’s work in front of learners; and/or

d) Encouraged learners to film and/or take pictures of Colleague A while she was on a ladder.

2. He made inappropriate and/or offensive comments towards and/or in front of one or more learner(s).

Taken together the allegations are alleged to amount to ‘unacceptable professional conduct’, which Mr Barrett also denies. The hearing continues.