Teacher banned over indecent images of children

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) determined that Nicholas James Heuvel should be banned from teaching in England

A teacher employed at a Surrey school for 20 years has been banned from the profession after downloading hundreds of indecent images of children, following a decision by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

Nicholas James Heuvel taught at Box Hill School in Mickleham and while working as a teacher, between January 2016 and January 2018, he downloaded and/or was in possession of up to 224 indecent images of children on his phone.

Between 22 and 23 October 2017, he searched for indecent images of children on the internet.

On 15 July this year, a TRA panel issued a prohibition order to the 68-year-old, prohibiting him from teaching in England "indefinitely".

In a report, the TRA wrote that Heuvel had accepted a simple police caution on 30 September 2021 for making 222 Category C images of children, one Category B image of a child and one Category A image of a child - the most serious classification - in Dorking on 23 January 2021.

The report added Heuvel had been referred to the TRA on 7 December 2021.

The report stated that on 16 December 2024, Heuvel had admitted to all the offences from 2016 to 2018, and in 2021, by signing a statement of agreed facts to all the offences.

Heuvel started working at Box Hill School in 1997 until his resignation in 2017.

The panel said the decision to ban Heuvel from teaching was "both proportionate and appropriate".

The TRA report stated: "The period of time which Mr Heuvel used specific search terms to access indecent images of children was a significant factor in forming that opinion along with the risk of repetition which the panel considered was high due to Mr Heuvel's lack of insight and/or remorse into his actions and the impact that his actions had on children."

The panel said it was satisfied Heuvel's conduct amounted to "misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession".

The panel added public confidence in the teaching profession "could be seriously weakened" if Heuvel's conduct "was not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession".

When asked about the time it took for the TRA to issue the prohibition order, a spokesperson for the Department of Education (DfE) said it "does not comment on individual cases".

It added this included "identifying the referring party or confirming whether a prohibition order has been appealed".

"The duration of an investigation depends on various factors, some of which are outside of TRA's control, including the timely provision of information by third parties, and the availability of parties which are required to attend a hearing," it added.

"The TRA has taken extensive steps to increase capacity to ensure the timely conclusion of cases which has enabled it to deliver a record number of misconduct hearings."

Under the ban order, Heuvel is "prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England".