A teacher has escaped a ban despite being convicted for holding a pupil upside down, raising concerns about safety and professionalism in schools.
Cumbria: So, there’s this story about a trainee music teacher, Sean Haythornthwaite, who got into some serious trouble. He was convicted for picking up a pupil by her ankles and holding her upside down. Can you believe that?
This all went down back in February 2022 when a parent reported the incident at Seascale School. Sean was arrested, but he didn’t tell his bosses about it right away. He only came clean after a week, and by then, he was already suspended.
In July 2022, he was found guilty of assault and had to do 150 hours of community service. He also had to pay the pupil £100 in compensation. Not exactly a great look for someone trying to become a qualified teacher, right?
Witnesses were shocked by what happened. One said it was totally out of character for Sean, who was usually calm and quiet. Another witness mentioned that he seemed really upset afterward, almost broken.
Sean later claimed he was just trying to cheer the girl up, saying he took a parental role in the situation. He admitted he made a poor choice but insisted he didn’t mean any harm.
During the hearings, he explained that he followed his lawyer’s advice about not telling his employer right away. He thought the charges would be dropped, so he didn’t think it was necessary to inform anyone. But the panel pointed out he had plenty of chances to update his employer before the court date.
In the end, the panel decided not to ban him from teaching. They felt his actions weren’t malicious and that he didn’t intend to harm the pupil. They also noted he hadn’t received enough training for his role, which might have contributed to his poor judgment.
It’s a pretty wild situation, and it raises a lot of questions about teacher training and safety in schools. What do you think about it?
