A maths teacher from Bexleyheath who invited a former female pupil to his house to take drugs has been banned from the profession for a minimum of two years.

A teaching tribunal heard that Monday Ilenotuma, 48, also commented on former pupils' Instagram posts and told them they looked "beautiful" and "radiant".

After giving his personal mobile number to one young girl he used to teach, the tribunal was told he sent her 400 messages just 22 days - some of which were sent late at night and at weekends.

Ilenotuma, who taught in Bexley, said his attitude towards the young girls had been one of "pastoral concern".

But he has now been banned from the profession for a minimum of two years by a disciplinary panel, which deemed his relationships with pupils as "inappropriate".

The teacher disciplinary panel heard Ilenotuma had begun working at state school Bexleyheath Academy as a supply teacher in July 2016.

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

He later obtained a permanent job as a maths teacher at the school later that year.

Two years later, in October 2018, the panel heard concerns were raised about Ilenotuma sending messages to a former student of his, named only as Pupil A, who was then in Year 13 at another school.

After the former pupil reported that she had been receiving messages from her ex-teacher, Mr Ilenotuma was suspended pending an investigation, during which it emerged he had also been messaging another former Bexleyheath Academy student - Pupil B - who was now in Year 10 at another school.

The panel heard Mr Ilenotuma had emailed Pupil A seeking to identify her whereabouts in September 2018; asking her, "Where about are you going to?" and "Are you home or out with friends?" on two separate occasions.

He discussed his personal life with the former student and asked her about hers, once asking how a GP appointment had gone and offering to help with her college work.

The panel heard Mr Ilenotuma also emailed the former pupil - who was between 16 and 17 years old at the time - commenting on her Instagram photos and inviting her to view his photos on the social media app.

In one email he said: "I have had a look at your pictures...They are very good. Well done."

The panel was told Mr Ilenotuma had also sent the girl inappropriate messages on WhatsApp, asking her in one exchange, 'You know what why don't we hang out during midterm?'.

On another occasion he commented on her appearance, messaging her saying, "You looked radiant today".

In October 2018, Mr Ilenotuma also asked the girl about the medication she was taking, and in another exchange later that month appeared to reference drug use and invite the girl to his house to take drugs.

Mr Ilenotuma tells the girl, "Speak to you by 3:30" and when she asks, "Why what are you doing?" he replies, "Make some money".

The girl asks, "Doing what?" and her ex-teacher replies, "Dr*g".

When she asks him, "What you got? Can I have some?", Mr Ilenotuma says, "You welcome...when do you wanna come over for some...".

In other exchanges, Mr Ilenotuma asks for information about the girl's first period and tells her doesn't wear any clothing in bed.

The panel also heard that, after giving the girl his personal mobile number, he messaged Pupil A nearly 400 times on WhatsApp over the next 22 days - with some messages having been sent late at night or over weekends.

The tribunal was also told Mr Ilenotuma also messaged with another former pupil, Pupil B, on WhatsApp, between September and October 2018.

Pupil B was a Year 10 student at another school at the time.

The panel heard he once commented on her appearance after she had sent a photo of her wearing glasses, to which Mr Ilenotuma replied, "You look [pair of eyes emoji] beautiful in them."

The panel also found Mr Ilenotuma had had phone conversations with Pupil A, including conversations in which the young girl told him about 'suicidal thoughts' and the medication she was taking.

After reporting their contact, Pupil A admitted she felt "uncomfortable" about their communication.

In her written evidence, she stated: "I don’t want him to keep texting me because it makes me feel uncomfortable...

"What he says can be taken either way, and I think he means it in an inappropriate way but he's trying to make out like he doesn’t."

Although Mr Ilenotuma admitted his messages had been inappropriate, he insisted he was acting out of "pastoral concern" for the girls in his role as their former teacher.

However, the teaching conduct panel judged him to have failed to observe the professional boundaries expected of teachers and banned him from the profession.

Panel chair, Mrs Melissa West, said: “Mr Ilenotuma accepted that his conduct was wrong.

"However, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Ilenotuma understood exactly why his conduct was wrong.

"He did not appear to appreciate that the timing, frequency, volume and content of the email and WhatsApp messages with Pupil A and Pupil B were inappropriate.

"Mr Ilenotuma did show some remorse both in his written statement and in his live evidence."

The decision maker, Sarah Buxcey, issued an order prohibiting Mr Ilenotuma from teaching indefinitely in any school or sixth-form college in England.

Mr ILenotuma can apply for the order to be set aside in a minimum of two years.

A spokesman for Bexleyheath Academy said: "The safeguarding of our students is our number one priority and this type of behaviour is completely inappropriate and represents a gross breach of trust.

"As soon as we were made aware, we suspended this individual and moved to dismissal.

"We are pleased that the Teaching Regulation Agency has taken action to ban this individual from teaching for an indefinite period of time.”