Nottingham teacher banned over indecent image of children retweet

Mark Attwood joined Nottingham Academy in 2005

A teacher who admitted sharing an indecent image of children on social media has been banned from the profession.

Mark Attwood, who worked at Nottingham Academy, was cautioned by police and put on the sex offenders register after retweeting the image in 2017.

He was suspended by the school and sacked in 2018.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel has now prohibited him from teaching indefinitely.

The panel heard Attwood, 37, joined the academy in September 2005 as head of performing arts, ICT and business.

He was arrested on suspicion of making and/or possessing indecent images of children on 29 November 2017 and suspended the following day.

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Most of the images he retweeted were found to be "borderline Category C images" but one was "of three girls that were around eight" years old, the panel found.

In February the following year, he accepted a caution for retweeting an indecent image of girls, who were not pupils at the school. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for two years.

Attwood was dismissed in March 2018 following an internal disciplinary hearing at the school.

The panel said his conduct "fell significantly short of the standards expected" and could have brought the profession into disrepute.

Of the children pictured in the image, it added: "There could have been no mistaking the girls for being adults."

Wayne Norrie, chief executive officer at Greenwood Academies Trust, which runs the Nottingham Academy, said they took action "as soon as [they] became aware of this issue".

He added: "I am appalled by his behaviour and I fully support the panel's recommendations."