Assistant headteacher banned over indecent image

An assistant headteacher who was convicted of possessing an indecent photograph of a child has been banned from the profession for life.

Liam Radcliffe, 37, "requested and received indecent images of children" over WhatsApp, a teacher misconduct panel found.

Radcliffe, who worked at Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, was given a 24-week suspended prison sentence at Leeds Magistrates' Court in January.

He had been convicted of one charge of possessing an indecent image of a child and one charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image, which related to animals.

The misconduct panel's findings, published by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), said Radcliffe was arrested in May 2022, four months after police were told of his offences while conducting a separate investigation.

Having worked at the secondary school since 2019 and subsequently been promoted to the role of assistant head, the panel said Radcliffe's behaviour was "serious" and undermined his "position of trust".

The hearing, which Radcliffe did not attend when it was held earlier this month, was told he had "accepted responsibility" for his actions and had co-operated with the TRA investigation.

However, the panel said it had not been "provided with any evidence of insight and/or remorse" on the part of the disgraced former school leader.

As part of his indefinite ban from teaching, Radcliffe cannot work in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in the UK.

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