FORMER TONBRIDGE SCHOOL TEACHER BANNED FOR INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS ABOUT STUDENTS
A former teacher at Tonbridge School has been banned from the classroom for life after telling medical staff "he had been having inappropriate thoughts about the students he taught", said a misconduct panel.David Cooper, 66, was a history teacher at the school in Tonbridge for nearly 19 years and in May 2019 was signed off work due to "health concerns".
He made the disclosures to medical staff in December 2019 and/or January 2020, who passed these on to the school and police.
The school, which has around 800 day or boarding boys, aged 13 to 18, immediately put in place safeguarding measures, said the Teaching Regulation panel's report.
Mr Cooper subsequently made similar "multiple disclosures" to police on various dates that he had "sexual thoughts about children".
And on one occasion around the same time, he admitted to two staff "an interest in sexual material concerning children and that he liked some of the students he taught but had never acted upon such thoughts", said the panel.
The report said: "Whilst there is no evidence that Mr Cooper’s attitudes have led to harmful behaviour towards others, there is evidence in the form of his comments and representations over a long period that he has a deep-seated attitude which would have the potential to lead to harmful behaviour." "Similarly, whilst Mr Cooper is not responsible for misconduct seriously affecting the well-being of pupils, there is some evidence to suggest that, by virtue of his attitude and his repeated disclosures, he does present a risk of such misconduct." Mr Cooper is banned from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.
He is not allowed to apply in the future for this ban to be lifted.
He has the right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of May 27, the date of the order.
In a statement from Tonbridge School, in full below, it said Mr Cooper's disclosures were "disturbing".
Termly fees to board at Tonbridge School are £19,708; and for day boys, it's £14,786.
There is also an admissions fee of £2,250, and a registration fee of £350.
There are also "extras" for certain activities, in the region of £300 to £1,500 per term.
In the misconduct report, some words have been redacted in sentences in the panel's findings which appear to be giving context or clues to Mr Cooper, or anyone else, making such disclosures.
In one section, it says: "The panel received some expert evidence that disclosures of this nature could be as a result of an individual being [redacted]." And in another part, it says: "The panel recognises that Mr Cooper first made his disclosures at a time when he was [redacted]." And again, "Mr Cooper was reported as [redacted] at the point when he made this disclosure." The panel said it had received references attesting to Mr Cooper's "abilities as a teacher" and "his positive record over a long period of time".
He also contributed to history textbooks.
Banning Mr Cooper from the classroom would maintain public confidence in the profession, the panel said.
It said while it had no evidence of the "extent, nature or effects of the thoughts" Mr Cooper had disclosed, it found them "concerning".
It said: "Any teacher having any such inappropriate or sexual thoughts about children or even disclosing that they did, whether true or not, would tend to bring the profession into disrepute." The panel also said that Mr Cooper's disclosures, even if "false or exaggerated", could affect public confidence in the teaching profession.
The school said in a statement to KentLive: "We are grateful to the Teaching Regulation Agency for its careful consideration of this matter and welcome the decision to issue a prohibition order in this case." "When the School became aware of these disturbing disclosures, we immediately took swift and comprehensive safeguarding action – something the TRA itself recognised.
The TRA has confirmed that there was no evidence that any child was harmed or exposed to risk." "Student welfare and safeguarding are at the heart of what we do and will continue to be treated with the utmost importance, underpinned by robust policies, regular monitoring and rigorous staff training."
