English teacher banned after helping pupils cheat

An English teacher who helped his pupils to cheat on their coursework has been banned from the classroom indefinitely.

John Spelacy offered "improper assistance" to English language and literature students at Fakenham Academy, in Norfolk, in the 2022-23 academic year.

The 58-year-old's "calculated" actions had been going on for a prolonged period of time, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said in a report.

The Sapienta Education Trust, which runs Fakenham Academy, said once the school became aware of concerns, it followed all established protocols.

Mr Spelacy taught at the secondary school and sixth form college, rated "good" by Ofsted, for 21 years until his resignation in August 2023.

A panel was told how he encouraged pupils to break examination rules and "dishonestly" changed and commented on their coursework.

The feedback went beyond the level permitted by examinination board AQA, the report said.

"It was considered that the ordinary decent person would know that the conduct was dishonest," it added.

Mr Spelacy expressed "sincere regret" for the difficulties he had caused his former school and students during the hearing.

However, the teaching watchdog noted he showed "little remorse" for his conduct.

It concluded he fell "significantly short" of the standard of behaviour expected of a teacher.

Decision maker David Oatley said Mr Spelacy could appeal to return to teaching in September 2026.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "As soon as the school became aware of the concerns which was identified through our own quality assurance processes, we followed all established protocols.

"This involved working with the relevant exam board and following all their instructions.

"This included a thorough investigation, appropriate HR processes and referral to the TRA.

"We also worked with the exam board to ensure that pupils were not disadvantaged.’

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