Andrew Winkworth

Introduction

Andrew Winkworth is a former class teacher at Worlingham CEVC Primary School in Beccles, Suffolk, who was banned from teaching for life after admitting he had secretly filmed women in public in Norwich. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel considered his case at a private virtual meeting on 24 March 2026, without a hearing at his own request, on the basis of a signed statement of agreed facts in which he admitted all three allegations, including that his conduct was sexually motivated. The panel found every allegation proved, recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and a four-year review period, and the Secretary of State’s decision maker agreed, prohibiting him from teaching indefinitely.

Background Information

Winkworth joined Worlingham CEVC Primary School as a class teacher on 1 September 2012 and taught there for around a decade, including as class teacher for Years 5 and 6 and as Head of PE, with involvement in sports, music and school performances. On 23 March 2022 the headteacher was informed of potential safeguarding issues concerning his school laptop, which had synced with the school server. A member of the school’s IT staff, searching the server that day, found graphic videos in Winkworth’s downloads folder.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Admitted, no-prosecution case. Winkworth admitted all three allegations, including sexual motivation, in a signed statement of agreed facts; Suffolk police investigated and found no evidence of criminality, so there was no prosecution or conviction. The findings are regulatory, made on agreed facts and independently assessed by the panel, and concerned adult members of the public rather than pupils.

The case came to light through the school’s own IT systems. On 23 March 2022 the IT staff member, referred to in the decision as Individual A, was searching the school server for a Snape performance video made a week earlier. Unable to find it, he looked at Winkworth’s account and found graphic videos in his downloads folder. Their metadata showed dates between 6 August 2020 and 29 January 2022, and they appeared to show women being filmed walking the streets of Norwich. He contacted the headteacher and reported the videos.

The investigation established how the material reached school systems. The videos had been saved onto the school server from Winkworth’s personal Google Drive, and he had linked his personal Google account to school iPads. Individual A identified matching videos from thumbnail images, and noted that on the iPads the videos appeared and then disappeared, indicating Winkworth had deleted them. Thumbnails depicted repeated images of women’s bottoms and legs, with the women wearing leggings or trousers.

The panel viewed 31 videos itself, noting that some were duplicates, and found it proved that on more than one occasion Winkworth filmed female members of the public in public places, from behind, focusing on both their bottoms and their legs. A record of a meeting held in May 2022 noted that in at least one video the person filming increased his pace to catch up with a woman, then slowed to maintain a set distance behind her while continuing to film, and that four videos showed the same woman followed for approximately ten minutes in total, filmed in the centre of Norwich. The panel concluded the women had been filmed without their knowledge or consent.

On motivation, the panel applied the Basson test, that a sexual motive means conduct done either “in pursuit of sexual gratification or in pursuit of a sexual relationship”. Noting that the women filmed were wearing tight clothing and that the filming was repeated over a period of time, it found the conduct was done in pursuit of sexual gratification. The panel found behaviours associated with the offence of voyeurism relevant, but concluded the conduct did not amount to a criminal offence, did not meet the threshold for stalking, and that there was insufficient evidence of a specific safeguarding breach under Keeping Children Safe in Education, with no evidence that pupils had accessed the videos.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Suffolk police’s safeguarding team investigated on 24 March 2022 and the decision records that “no evidence of criminality was found”. A LADO meeting followed, Winkworth was suspended pending investigation, and he was dismissed on 12 July 2022 after almost ten years at the school. The matter was referred to the TRA on 14 October 2022. His case was considered without a hearing, at his request, on a statement of agreed facts signed on 19 October 2025 in which he admitted all three allegations. In mitigation, the panel weighed his submission statement of 24 August 2022, in which he expressed remorse, described his actions as out of character, said the filming took place several years previously and that he no longer engaged in such behaviour. The panel found only limited insight, as his representations focused predominantly on himself and his family, but accepted there was no evidence he posed an ongoing risk to children.

Current Status

The panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and a review period of four years, given the seriousness and persistent nature of the misconduct and its sexual motivation. Decision maker David Oatley, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State on 26 March 2026, accepted that recommendation as made. Winkworth is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until 2 April 2030, four years from the date of the order, and this is not an automatic right. The determination is dated 24 March 2026 and the decision was published on 2 April 2026. He has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A teaching career of 19 years, the last decade of it at Worlingham, where he taught Years 5 and 6 and led PE, is closed off. The prohibition bars him from any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Any return would require him to apply after 2 April 2030 and persuade a fresh panel that the order should be set aside; without a successful application he remains prohibited from teaching indefinitely.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Andrew Winkworth,” published 2 April 2026 — source