An ex-Bourne End school teacher who called a pupil with special educational needs "thick" and said absent pupils would "sit there scratching their balls" has been banned from the profession. 

Helen Rossenberg worked for Bourne End Academy, in New Road, as a maths teacher from September to December 2015.

A conduct panel heard that during that time, she pushed a student, trod on another's foot and pulled another by the hair. 

It was also alleged that on five separate occasions, she made "inappropriate and derogatory" comments to pupils. 

The panel found allegations that she described a student with special education needs as "thick" and said “all they would do is sit there scratching their balls” when referring to students who were absent from a lesson, to be true. 

The teacher is also said to have referred to one or more students as "fat", "ugly" or "gay." 

She also admitted saying a student had "nits" but explained she did so as "banter." 

Ms Rossenberg was not present at the National College for Teaching and Leadership hearing on January 18.

The panel found her guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, saying her actions fell "significantly short of the standards expected of the profession."

They said: "Furthermore, the panel was concerned that despite the considerable support that the School had provided or offered to Ms Rossenberg, there had been a rapid escalation in the seriousness of the incidents that pupils were exposed to by Ms Rossenberg's behaviour, both oral and physical."

Ms Rossenberg's time at Bourne End Academy was her first position as a teacher in the UK, but had more than 20 years experience of teaching in Australia.