Carol Thomas

Introduction

Carol Thomas was a UK supply teacher who worked through the education recruitment agency Vision for Education and was employed as a teacher by the Education Training Collective in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees. In November 2023 she was convicted at Teesside Magistrates’ Court of harassment without violence over a series of abusive Facebook and email messages sent to a man in early 2023, after a trial. In April 2026 a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found the conviction was a conviction of a relevant offence and recommended her prohibition from teaching. The decision maker for the Secretary of State agreed. Carol Thomas is prohibited from teaching indefinitely, and she cannot apply to have the order set aside until May 2028 at the earliest.

Background Information

According to the TRA decision, Ms Thomas provided supply teaching services via Vision for Education, described in the decision as “a recruitment agency specialising in providing staff for the education sector”, across three engagements: February 2014 to July 2016, September 2017 to October 2019, and October 2021 to July 2023. She was separately employed as a teacher by the Education Training Collective between 13 September 2021 and 9 January 2024 — employment that ended a month after her conviction.

The conduct surfaced through a police investigation. The police case summary in the TRA hearing bundle recorded that between late January and late February 2023 Ms Thomas sent the complainant abusive messages by Facebook and email, at first from her own account and later from an account held under a different name. On 8 November 2023 she was convicted after trial at Teesside Magistrates’ Court. She was not present and not represented at the TRA panel, which convened virtually via Microsoft Teams on 29 and 30 April 2026.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Carol Thomas was convicted by a criminal court, and her conviction is a matter of court record accepted by the TRA panel as conclusive proof; nothing in this section is an unadjudicated allegation. She was not present and not represented at the panel hearing, and the decision records no admission by her to the TRA allegation.

The police case summary set out the particulars. At 00:27 on 28 January 2023, Ms Thomas sent an abusive Facebook message to the complainant from her own Facebook account. At 21:39 on 15 February 2023 she sent a further Facebook message from an account held under a different name. Further messages followed on 15, 19 and 20 February 2023 by Facebook and/or email.

On 8 November 2023, Ms Thomas was convicted (after trial) of harassment without violence at Teesside Magistrates’ Court. The certificate of conviction presented to the panel recorded the conviction date as 18 November 2023, and the panel accepted the certificate as conclusive proof of the commission of the offence. On 29 November 2023, following the verdict, she was sentenced to a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, a £200 fine and a two-year restraining order requiring her not to contact the complainant directly or indirectly by any means and to move away from him in the event of a chance encounter.

The panel found the messages sent to the complainant were “grossly offensive and caused the complainant and his daughter distress”, and that the escalation of her conduct “indicated a lack of ability to self-regulate and a lack of appreciation of boundaries”.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel weighed mitigating factors against aggravating ones. In mitigation it noted the “difficult personal circumstances that preceded Ms Thomas’ conduct”, her claim that she had engaged in counselling — though no independent evidence corroborated this — and the absence of any evidence of previous disciplinary proceedings or warnings. Against that, the panel found she “has not expressed any remorse and/or insight into her conduct”, had minimised her actions in her police interview by saying she “just sent a couple of emails”, and that her conduct appeared underpinned by attitudinal issues, “believing that she was the true victim”.

The complainant’s victim impact statement described the effect of the conduct on him and his family, but as the family gave no oral evidence the panel treated the statements as untested hearsay and attributed less weight to them. Even so, it determined Ms Thomas’ actions were “fundamentally incompatible with her being a teacher” and recommended a prohibition order with a two-year review period.

Decision maker Stuart Blomfield, deciding for the Secretary of State, placed considerable weight on the lack of remorse or insight and on the finding that the “lengthy restraining order” was “indicative of the seriousness of the offence”. He concluded a prohibition order was proportionate and in the public interest, and that a two-year review period was required.

Current Status

The panel’s determination is dated 30 April 2026; the decision on behalf of the Secretary of State was signed by Stuart Blomfield on 1 May 2026. Ms Thomas is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until 6 May 2028 — two years from the date of the order — and this is not an automatic right: a panel would consider any application. Without a successful application she remains prohibited indefinitely. She has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of being given notice of the order. The decision was published on 22 May 2026.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The prohibition order ends Ms Thomas’ teaching career in England: with a conviction for a relevant offence found against her, she cannot be employed as a teacher in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home. The criminal court’s penalties — the fine, the Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and the two-year restraining order — ran alongside the professional sanction. The published TRA decision is a permanent public record that appears whenever her name is searched.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Carol Thomas,” published 22 May 2026 — source