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The Independent
04-08-2025
- The Independent
Teacher banned after asking pupil to take bikini photos on holiday
A teacher who inappropriately touched multiple schoolgirls and asked for pictures of one of them wearing a bikini has been banned from teaching. Kieran Harker, an IT teacher, was found guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards eight pupils during 14 months of employment at Newmarket Academy in Newmarket, near Cambridge. A panel found the 30-year-old guilty of 'misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession'. He has been banned from teaching indefinitely, with the right to have the prohibition order reviewed in two years. Three pupils spoke in evidence against him and were all anonymised for the report. One pupil said: 'Kieran Harker became very touchy with me. He would often touch my back through the hole in the school chair. I used to sit right behind him in the classroom. 'I would be facing the computer, doing my work, and he would walk up behind me and put his hand through the back of the chair to stroke my back. I do not know why he did this. I was not upset, so he was not doing it to comfort me.' She said she asked him to stop, which he did at the time, but he resumed touching her at a later date. Another pupil, who was in Year 9 at the time of interacting with Mr Harker, alleged the IT teacher 'put his hand on my lower back in very unnessicery [sic] situations, like just walking past me…' A third pupil said Mr Harker 'rubbed my back and my thigh' outside one of his classrooms. 'I felt uncomfortable,' the pupil said. 'It has happened more than once.' When questioned about the allegations, Mr Harker said: 'I have never touched a student's thigh or lower back. But it is a natural reaction when someone is upset for me to touch the top of their back to console them, but I have never touched the lower back.' He was also found guilty of placing his hand on the upper thigh of at least two students. Another student, identified only as Pupil E, reported multiple instances of inappropriate behaviour by Mr Harker. In one instance, he grabbed her by the waist; in another, he wrote the words 'love you' in her planner. She described both events as making her feel uncomfortable. He also sent her inappropriate emails, including requesting that she show him bikini photos. 'I was going on holiday and I was anxious about how I looked. I was emailing Kieran Harker about it and then I spoke to him about it the next day,' she said. 'He told me to have fun and take photos of myself in a bikini to make me feel better. I thought it was an odd comment, but as we were on the topic of me being self-conscious, I thought he maybe did not mean it in a weird way. 'When I returned from holiday, Kieran Harker asked if I had taken any photos in a bikini. I said no, and Kieran Harker said that he had been looking forward to seeing the photos.' She also stated that she believed Mr Harker wanted the pictures for himself and that she felt 'weirded out' by the request. He responded to the accusations by saying: 'I never asked to see pictures of her in her bikini, I asked to see photos from her holiday.' In a separate email exchange with another student, he wrote: 'I saw you across the playground and thought how lovely you looked! Had to tell you immediately.' That email was then shared among pupils. Mr Harker, defending himself, claimed this message was intended to help the girl feel better about her appearance. The report added that during a school disciplinary hearing, he had said: 'On reflection, I recognise that any form of contact is inappropriate with a student and that I wholeheartedly regret this and would never do it again.'
BBC News
30-07-2025
- BBC News
Surrey teacher banned for downloading indecent images of children
A teacher employed at a Surrey school for 20 years has been banned from the profession after downloading hundreds of indecent images of children, following a decision by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). Nicholas James Heuvel taught at Box Hill School in Mickleham and while working as a teacher, between January 2016 and January 2018, he downloaded and/or was in possession of up to 224 indecent images of children on his 22 and 23 October 2017, he searched for indecent images of children on the internet. On 15 July this year, a TRA panel issued a prohibition order to the 68-year-old, prohibiting him from teaching in England "indefinitely". In a report, the TRA wrote that Heuvel had accepted a simple police caution on 30 September 2021 for making 222 Category C images of children, one Category B image of a child and one Category A image of a child - the most serious classification - in Dorking on 23 January report added Heuvel had been referred to the TRA on 7 December report stated that on 16 December 2024, Heuvel had admitted to all the offences from 2016 to 2018, and in 2021, by signing a statement of agreed facts to all the started working at Box Hill School in 1997 until his resignation in panel said the decision to ban Heuvel from teaching was "both proportionate and appropriate". The TRA report stated: "The period of time which Mr Heuvel used specific search terms to access indecent images of children was a significant factor in forming that opinion along with the risk of repetition which the panel considered was high due to Mr Heuvel's lack of insight and/or remorse into his actions and the impact that his actions had on children."The panel said it was satisfied Heuvel's conduct amounted to "misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession".The panel added public confidence in the teaching profession "could be seriously weakened" if Heuvel's conduct "was not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession". When asked about the time it took for the TRA to issue the prohibition order, a spokesperson for the Department of Education (DfE) said it "does not comment on individual cases". It added this included "identifying the referring party or confirming whether a prohibition order has been appealed"."The duration of an investigation depends on various factors, some of which are outside of TRA's control, including the timely provision of information by third parties, and the availability of parties which are required to attend a hearing," it added."The TRA has taken extensive steps to increase capacity to ensure the timely conclusion of cases which has enabled it to deliver a record number of misconduct hearings." Under the ban order, Heuvel is "prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England".
BBC News
29-07-2025
- BBC News
Teacher banned over sexual misconduct at Sheffield school
A teacher who "groomed and manipulated" a schoolgirl to perform a sex act on him has been banned for life from the classroom.A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel concluded Jason Harrison committed sexual misconduct while working at Notre Dame High School in former student was left "scared", she told the panel in a written statement, adding that she had gone through "four years of hell" following the teacher, who was 29 at the time, was later arrested and interviewed by police following reports from the student's friends, but acquitted in court. However, the panel found the student's allegations to be true on the balance of probability and gave Mr Harrison a prohibition order for life, stating he brought the teaching profession into disrepute, abused his position and violated the rights of Harrison joined the school in September panel was told that the student went to see him in his classroom to discuss some work at lunchtime, during which an incident of a sexual nature was said to have panel found it true on the balance of probability that Mr Harrison touched the student's legs and bottom, exposed himself and encouraged the pupil to perform a sex girl's friends reported concerns about the incident soon afterwards. 'Diabolical impact' The student spoke to the headteacher and said she had been joking with her friends and it had gone too far, but revealed to her mother that what she had said to her friends was Harrison was arrested and he and the student were interviewed by police the following resigned from his role at the school in August August 2021 he was tried and acquitted of a criminal offence relating to the Harrison denied the allegations and did not attend the TRA student told the panel she now realised she had been "groomed" and was trying to protect the teacher at the written evidence, she said: "My perspective now that I am older has changed."I realise that I had been groomed and manipulated and can see that I should not have been worrying about protecting Mr Harrison nor the impact that a prison sentence may have had on him."She also said: "I have gone through four years of hell... I am still scared of Mr Harrison and the potential that I may bump into him out in public."The student said the incident had had "a diabolical impact" on panel noted that Mr Harrison had "failed to recognise the devastating impact of his actions" on the student and her family and had a "complete lack of insight and remorse".The ban applies to any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home, and he has no right to apply for his right to teach to be reinstated. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Yahoo
Teacher banned from the classroom after encouraging pupil to perform sex act on him
A teacher who encouraged a 'vulnerable' young pupil to perform a sex act on him has been banned from the classroom indefinitely. Jason Harrison also inappropriately touched the pupil while working at Notre Dame High School in February 2019, a misconduct hearing has found. Harrison, 35, who joined the Sheffield school in September 2015, then failed to alert staff about the incident, the tribunal heard. Among the documentary and oral evidence presented was the witness statement the pupil's mother gave in August 2019. She said her daughter told her Harrison had 'pushed her down so that she was on the floor and said 'it will only take ten seconds''. Harrison was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct after a number of 'serious' allegations were proven and he was found to have been in breach of multiple professional standards. The panel added that the 35-year-old had shown a 'complete lack of insight and remorse', failing to recognise the 'devastating' impact of his actions on the pupil and her family, instead choosing to focus on how he had been affected by the incident. It said: 'Mr Harrison's failure to take responsibility for his actions provides evidence of a real risk of repetition.' The tribunal concluded: 'The panel made very serious findings that Mr Harrison engaged in sexual conduct with Pupil A and his actions were sexually motivated.' Harrison has consequently been banned from teaching, with no opportunity to overturn the decision. A ruling issued last month on behalf of the education secretary said: 'The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a teacher engaging in sexual activity with a vulnerable pupil who was also a child.' It continued: 'This means that Mr Jason Harrison 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 Harrison shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.' Harrison, who had denied the allegations, did not appear at the hearing. Notre Dame High School is a Catholic co-educational academy that caters to pupils aged 11 to 18. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
28-07-2025
- The Independent
Teacher banned from the classroom after encouraging pupil to perform sex act on him
A teacher who encouraged a 'vulnerable' young pupil to perform a sex act on him has been banned from the classroom indefinitely. Jason Harrison also inappropriately touched the pupil while working at Notre Dame High School in February 2019, a misconduct hearing has found. Harrison, 35, who joined the Sheffield school in September 2015, then failed to alert staff about the incident, the tribunal heard. Among the documentary and oral evidence presented was the witness statement the pupil's mother gave in August 2019. She said her daughter told her Harrison had 'pushed her down so that she was on the floor and said 'it will only take ten seconds''. Harrison was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct after a number of 'serious' allegations were proven and he was found to have been in breach of multiple professional standards. The panel added that the 35-year-old had shown a 'complete lack of insight and remorse', failing to recognise the 'devastating' impact of his actions on the pupil and her family, instead choosing to focus on how he had been affected by the incident. It said: 'Mr Harrison's failure to take responsibility for his actions provides evidence of a real risk of repetition.' The tribunal concluded: 'The panel made very serious findings that Mr Harrison engaged in sexual conduct with Pupil A and his actions were sexually motivated.' Harrison has consequently been banned from teaching, with no opportunity to overturn the decision. A ruling issued last month on behalf of the education secretary said: 'The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a teacher engaging in sexual activity with a vulnerable pupil who was also a child.' It continued: 'This means that Mr Jason Harrison 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 Harrison shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.' Harrison, who had denied the allegations, did not appear at the hearing. Notre Dame High School is a Catholic co-educational academy that caters to pupils aged 11 to 18.
