An elementary school teacher who posted offensive photos of himself online and advertised the sale of sex services has been barred from the classroom. Before his secret online life was revealed, Thomas Heayel, 31, taught at St. Columb Minor near Newquay, Cornwall. After the images were viewed and sent to a disciplinary hearing by the education regulating industry, Heayel was dismissed from the institution.
Thomas Heayel is suspended indefinitely from teaching
He was found guilty of publishing or enabling the publication of one or more offensive photos of himself online between February and July 2020. Heayel was also discovered to have published or let to be published one or more photographs, messages, and/or remarks on the internet during that time period that offered to sell sexual services. On September 1, 2019, Heayel began working as a teacher at the school until he was let go.
He acknowledged the claims and accepted responsibility for his behavior, which constituted “unacceptable professional conduct.” Members of the local government first voiced their concerns on July 7, 2021, and the teacher was fired on July 23. Heayel’s behavior, according to the disciplinary court, was noticeably below what was expected of the appeal. The panel believed that Mr. Heayel would probably be considered as a role model by kids as a teacher, despite the fact that there was no evidence that students had viewed or accessed the photographs online, according to DailyMail “.
Even though Mr. Heayel uploaded the photographs on a restricted website, the images could still be found using a standard internet search, and one of the images even had Mr. Heayel’s name on it. As a result, anyone in the public, including students, had access to the photographs because they were in the public domain. The panel thus came to the conclusion that Mr. Heayel’s actions would likely harm how the public perceived the teaching profession and that there were public interest considerations to be made “.
Although the panel took note of Thomas Heayel’s regret, Heayel’s teaching privileges have been terminated indefinitely. Positive recommendations had been provided, but they were limited to Heayel’s application for a job at the school and there had been no fresh references offered since his misconduct. Heayel is not permitted to teach in any English elementary, secondary, related youth housing, or children’s home. Little evidence “suggests that Mr. Heayel’s contribution to the profession had been either long-term or important,” the panel concluded. Two years after the order’s effective date, on July 5, 2024, he can submit an application to have the prohibition order voided. Heayel must then demonstrate his suitability to do so to another panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency in order to resume his teaching career.
TheAncenstry
