Convicted paedophile who continued to teach banned

Simon Schofield was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13

A paedophile who continued to teach after being convicted of assaulting a child has been banned from the profession.

Simon Schofield, 59, was handed a suspended prison sentence after being convicted in France in November 2023 of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13.

He had been working as a supply teacher in Thirsk from March 2021 until he resigned with immediate effect in May 2024, saying he had to go to France for a family emergency.

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said he had written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood calling for an urgent investigation into the matter.

The Teaching Regulation Agency was told in July 2024 about Schofield's conviction and obtained records from the Police National Computer.

The offence had been recorded since France shares information with the UK about convicted UK nationals, but it had otherwise not been flagged during criminal record checks.

Records suggested he had taught at multiple schools between his conviction and resignation.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Education, his former employer, said all its agency workers were subject to mandatory safeguarding and UK criminal record checks every three months.

They said this frequency of DBS checks, which are done by third-party agencies, went beyond the standard annual checks it was required to do.

"The safeguarding of children will always be our number one priority," they added.

'Extremely serious'

Schofield did not attend the professional conduct panel on 2 October and was not represented.

The panel said it had found "no evidence of insight, remorse or remediation".

The hearing report stated: "The panel had limited information about the circumstances of the offence, but was satisfied that by its nature, it was an extremely serious offence."

It said there was no evidence of the nature of the relationship between Schofield and the victim.

Marc Cavey, writing on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, said Schofield's behaviour was "incompatible with working as a teacher".

"Mr Simon Schofield is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England," he said.

He also noted a "lack of evidence of insight and remorse".

Schofield was given 28 days from receiving notice of the decision to appeal.

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