A former secondary school teacher at Featherstone High School in Southall, who admitted to possessing sexual images on a school-issued iPad, has avoided a teaching ban following a government disciplinary hearing.
Trevor Hodge, who taught physical education and health and social care at Featherstone High School, was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) after a disturbing discovery in March 2023. During a student coursework session, a colleague who was handed the iPad by Mr Hodge found three intimate images of a sexual nature stored on the device – intended exclusively for school use.
The colleague initially believed the iPad was Mr Hodge’s personal device, only to discover that it had been issued by the school. Alongside the explicit content, other personal files and non-sexual images were also found, leading to an internal investigation and eventual referral to the TRA.
Mr Hodge admitted that the images were his, and sexual in nature, but insisted their presence on the school device was accidental. He claimed they had been automatically transferred while syncing the iPad with his personal phone. The panel accepted this explanation as plausible and noted that the syncing process also included non-intimate personal content, which supported Mr Hodge’s account.
The hearing also examined a second allegation dating back to 2015, in which Mr Hodge was accused of posting a sexually explicit message on Facebook referencing a 13-year-old girl. However, the panel found this charge not proven due to insufficient evidence linking the post directly to Mr Hodge.
Despite finding that his conduct in March 2023 was inappropriate and brought the profession into disrepute, the panel ruled that it did not meet the threshold of “unacceptable professional conduct.” It concluded that Mr Hodge had made an error of judgement rather than acted with intent, and noted his remorse, cooperation, and previously unblemished teaching record.
The panel decided not to recommend a prohibition order, instead opting for the public release of the findings as a sufficient response. The Secretary of State’s representative, David Oatley, agreed acknowledging the incident’s seriousness but affirming the proportionality of the outcome.
In his summing up, Mr Oatley said: “The panel accepted Mr Hodge’s evidence that his conduct in relation to the possession of the inappropriate images on the School iPad was not deliberate, though it considered that this was weighed against the reality that he had made an intentional decision to sync his personal account with the device. Given that the nature and severity of the behaviour were at the less serious end of the spectrum and, having considered the mitigating factors that were present, the panel determined that a recommendation for a prohibition order would not be appropriate in this case.”
He added: “I have also placed considerable weight on the panel’s finding that Mr Hodge had demonstrated remorse and a level of insight, and that the risk of repetition was low. For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is not proportionate or in the public interest. I consider that the publication of the findings made would be sufficient to send an appropriate message to the teacher as to the standards of behaviour that were not acceptable and that the publication would meet the public interest requirement of declaring proper standards of the profession.”
