Former headteacher banned from classroom for life over child sex images

A primary school headteacher has been banned from the classroom for life after being convicted of making child sex abuse images.

Gerard Heaton, the former headteacher at Hungerford Primary School, Berkshire, was jailed for eight months in 2023 for “making indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of children”.

The 59-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of the offence and also pleaded guilty to one count of publishing an “obscene article”. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment for this offence and a seven-year sexual harm prevention order.

A teacher professional conduct panel considered Heaton’s court transcript, which detailed that the sexual activity that he published included young boys having sex with older men. The court also heard Heaton described this in a “gratuitous manner”.

The panel also heard that the former teacher had not shown “true remorse”. The teacher panel said he “fundamentally failed to acknowledge the potential impact on the children involved”.

There was no evidence Heaton acknowledged the harm to children involved in such offences, the panel added.

Heaton was the headteacher at Hungerford Primary School from January 2014 until taking early retirement in August 2017. Before that, he was headteacher at Inkpen Primary School for more than eight years.

He was working as a specialist teacher at Theale Primary School in the months before his arrest, and he was also a school governor at Kintbury St Mary's Primary School.

The Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) said that although Heaton served as a teacher for a long time, the panel did not accept that the incident was out of character given that the offences were committed from 2015 to 2022.

The panel heard from people who provided positive character references for Heaton. One described him as “very well respected by his peers in other local schools”. They added: “Nothing was too much trouble for him if it would make a positive difference to someone else.”

TRA decision maker Marc Cavey said: “The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a teacher being convicted of three counts of making indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of children as well as one count of publishing an obscene article. These convictions each led to a sentence of imprisonment.

“I have to determine whether the imposition of a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest. In assessing that for this case, I have considered the overall aim of a prohibition order which is to protect pupils and to maintain public confidence in the profession.”

The panel concluded Heaton is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school in England. Due to the severity of the crimes, Heaton will not be able to appeal this decision.