A paedophile former deputy head of a private school has been banned from teaching.
Andrew Stephen Morris was convicted of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children on August 12, 2021.
The 45-year-old, who worked at private school Brambletye School, East Grinstead, between 2017 and 2021, pleaded guilty to the offence and was handed an 18-month community order.
He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for five years from August 12, 2021.
A spokesman from the school said none of its pupils were involved.
A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency found Morris breached teaching standards and made a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Education that a prohibition order should be imposed with immediate effect.
They said Morris “completely failed” in his duty to protect public trust and confidence in the profession by his “serious and illegal misconduct which was relevant to being a teacher”.
They decided it would be proportionate for the prohibition order to be recommended without provision for a review period.
Read more: Primary school teacher sacked after pupils took pictures of their genitals in class
Sarah Buxcey, on behalf of the secretary of state, accepted the panel’s recommendation and banned Morris from teaching indefinitely.
A report from the TRA panel, just published, said police received information on July 17, 2019, that a user of a website had uploaded a Category C indecent image of a child.
Police were able to identify Morris as the user and he was arrested on April 21, 2020, on suspicion of possession of indecent images of children.
His computer and phone were seized.
He was released on bail and suspended by Brambletye School and after a disciplinary hearing was sacked.
Within its report, the panel noted that at the end of his police interview Morris spoke of the “devastating impact on [his] family” and did not acknowledge the effect on the child in the images in question or the impact on the school.
in her decision, Ms Buxcey said: “In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.
“A published decision, in light of the circumstances in this case, that is not backed up by full remorse or insight, does not in my view satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession.
“For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in order to achieve the intended aims of a prohibition order. I have gone on to consider the matter of a review period. In this case, the panel has recommended that no provision should be made for a review period.
“This means that Mr Andrew Stephen Morris is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.
“Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Morris shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”
A spokesman for Brambletye School said: “Brambletye School was informed of serious allegations against Mr Morris in April 2020.
“He was suspended by the school with immediate effect and not permitted to return to the school site.
“Alongside the police inquiry, the school launched its own internal investigation and, after a disciplinary hearing, Mr Morris (who had been subject to enhanced DBS checks before joining Brambletye) was dismissed from his post with immediate effect.
“The police confirmed that no Brambletye pupils were involved, nonetheless the fact that any member of our community could behave in such a way is a devastating betrayal of our trust and goes against everything that the school stands for."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel