A North Yorkshire teacher has been banned from the profession for life.
Simon Schofield, 59, has been stripped of his right to teach in the UK after being convicted for sexually assaulting a girl in France.
He taught in Thirsk. He was employed by recruitment organisation Yorkshire Education Ltd.
It confirmed that Mr Schofield had been employed by them as a supply teacher between 18 March 2021 and 14 May 2024.
He had not disclosed any conviction to them and had emailed them on 14 May 2024 to resign with immediate effect, saying he had to go to France for a family emergency.
Agency records suggest that he worked as a teacher at various schools between December 2023 and his resignation in May 2024.
A teacher misconduct panel heard that Mr Schofield was convicted at a court in Caen in Northern France of the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
That was on 29 November 2023. He was given a suspended prison sentence.
Mr Schofield did not appear at the misconduct hearing and no witnesses were called.
The panel’s report, published last Wednesday, states: “The panel noted that Mr Schofield’s actions were relevant to teaching, working with children and/or working in an education setting, as any sexual assault on a child, whether within an education setting or not, is highly relevant to the person’s fitness to teach.”
It added: “The panel had no evidence about Mr Schofield’s qualities as a teacher, and in any event, the conviction was so serious that his interests did not outweigh the need to take significant action to address the wider public interest.”
Marc Cavey, who led the Teaching Regulation Agency Panel at the misconduct hearing, took the decision to ban Mr Schofield on behalf of the Education Secretary.
He wrote: “The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a teacher receiving a conviction for serious sexual misconduct involving a child.”
The ban means Mr Schofield 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 Schofield shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach,” Mr Cavey added.
