Andrew Crozier

Introduction

Andrew Crozier is a former school Inclusion Manager who was banned from teaching for life in October 2021 after being convicted of engaging in sexual communications with a child. The child, Pupil A, was a pupil at the school where Crozier worked. After an initial contact that he ended by blocking her on Snapchat, he later unblocked her and exchanged messages of a sexual nature with her; his behaviour led to a criminal conviction and a sentence of imprisonment. Admitting the facts, Crozier asked for his Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) case to be decided without a hearing. The decision maker imposed an indefinite prohibition order with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Crozier, born on 17 December 1992 (TRA reference 19060), worked at a school — named only in redacted form in the published decision — as Inclusion Manager, having previously worked there as a cover supervisor. The panel saw nothing to question his teaching proficiency: written references from previous employers, produced when he applied for jobs at the school, and his final induction assessment as a newly qualified teacher attested to a previously good history, and there was no evidence of prior disciplinary proceedings or warnings. One reference did note that he would need to work to ensure his relationships with students remained productive and that appropriate boundaries were maintained.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

A relevant conviction for sexual communications with a child.

Pupil A told her mother that she had a crush on Crozier and was deliberately getting herself into trouble so that she would be placed into isolation and could see him. She contacted Crozier by email, and he asked for the conversation to be moved to Snapchat. He then blocked her on the app. When Pupil A’s mother informed the school of the crush, safeguarding measures were put in place.

At that point the matter might have ended. Instead, Crozier later unblocked Pupil A on Snapchat, and messages of a sexual nature were exchanged; the panel found that in those messages he recognised that his actions were against the law. Pupil A took photographs of the messages, her mother obtained access to the photographs and informed the school and the police, and Crozier accepted that he had sent the messages.

On or around 22 January 2020, Crozier was convicted at North Northumbria Magistrates’ Court of engaging in sexual communications with a child, contrary to section 15A(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 — an offence the panel described as intentionally communicating with a person under the age of 16 for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification. The panel noted that his behaviour ultimately led to a sentence of imprisonment, although the published decision does not state its length.

The TRA’s notice of meeting was dated 28 September 2021. Crozier admitted the allegation — he had signed a statement of agreed facts on 1 December 2020 and admitted the conviction of a relevant offence — and asked that the case be considered without a hearing. The TRA agreed, and the panel considered the case at a meeting held in private on 18 October 2021, finding the allegation of a relevant conviction proved on the certified court record. His representative had also applied for the decision not to be published, but the outcome was subsequently published by the Department for Education.

Public Reaction and Consequences

A letter from Crozier’s probation officer, seen by the panel, stated that he had completed offence-focused work to reduce his risk of reoffending and had “developed considerable insight into his offending behaviour and has robust risk management strategies in place”, describing him as “posing a low risk of reconviction”. The panel nevertheless found that his actions had harmed Pupil A — a witness statement by Pupil A’s mother to the police detailed the impact on Pupil A’s wellbeing and her relationships with family — and that this was a serious criminal offence. It recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period. Decision maker Alan Meyrick confirmed the sanction on 22 October 2021, noting that “Mr Crozier’s behaviour ultimately led to a sentence of imprisonment, which was indicative of the seriousness of the offence committed”, and that although Crozier had evidenced some insight, the seriousness of the conviction and the harm to Pupil A and her family outweighed it.

Current Status

Crozier is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. The panel itself recommended that no provision be made for a review period, and the decision maker agreed that allowing no review was necessary and proportionate given the seriousness of the misconduct and the harm caused to Pupil A and her family. Because no review period was set, and Crozier was ruled not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach, there is no route back to teaching in England. The order took effect from the date it was served on him, with a right of appeal to the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The conviction and the lifelong prohibition ended Crozier’s career in English schools, a career that recruitment references had described as promising at the very school where the offending later took place. His admission of the facts and the documented insight from his offence-focused work spared the regulatory process a contested hearing, but neither the panel nor the decision maker treated that as sufficient: the sexual nature of the offending, the imprisonment that followed and the harm to Pupil A and her family were held to outweigh his contribution to the profession and his low assessed risk of reconviction.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Andrew Crozier” — source