Daniel Johnson

Introduction

Daniel Johnson was a primary school teacher at Heygarth Primary School in Eastham, Wirral, where he taught from September 2018 until his resignation in June 2024. In January 2026, a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found proved against him an allegation that he had been convicted of a relevant offence: two counts of making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child. The panel recommended a prohibition order with no provision for a review period, and the Secretary of State for Education prohibited him from teaching. The decision was published in February 2026.

Background Information

Johnson joined Heygarth Primary School as a teacher on 1 September 2018 and remained there for nearly six years. The published decision records his date of birth as 26 March 1991. On 23 May 2024 he was arrested for possession of indecent images of children and was suspended from the school while police conducted an investigation. He resigned from his position with immediate effect on 10 June 2024, and the school’s headteacher referred the case to the TRA on 8 October 2024.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. The findings below are regulatory findings made on the balance of probabilities by a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). Mr Johnson admitted the allegation, accepted that it amounted to a conviction of a relevant offence, and had pleaded guilty in the criminal courts; the panel accepted the certificate of conviction as conclusive proof of the convictions and the facts necessarily implied by them. They are findings of professional misconduct — the underlying conviction is itself a matter of court record, confirmed by certificate of conviction.

The allegation, set out in a notice of meeting dated 14 November 2025, was that Johnson had been convicted of a relevant offence: two counts of making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of children on 13 April 2024, contrary to section 1(a) of the Protection of Children Act 1978, the convictions being recorded on 15 October 2024. Johnson admitted the allegation on 27 February 2025 and signed a statement of agreed facts on 1 June 2025.

The certificate referenced two category B images and one category A image — the most serious category in respect of possession of indecent images of children — and recorded his guilty plea. In sentencing, the judge described the case as unusual: “The circumstances are very far from the typical circumstances which courts hear about relating to the possession of indecent images.” Noting that, having been confronted, Johnson “made prompt admissions” and resigned from his position and career almost immediately, the judge imposed an 18-month community order, 70 hours of unpaid work, 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

The panel found the particulars proved and held that Johnson’s conduct breached elements of the Teachers’ Standards: upholding public trust in the profession, showing tolerance of and respect for the rights of others, not undermining the rule of law, having proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of his school, and acting within the statutory frameworks setting out teachers’ duties. It considered that someone prepared to download indecent images of children does not show the requisite respect for the safeguarding of children, and found that the behaviour involved in committing the offence “could have had an impact on the safety and/or security of pupils”.

Finding strong public interest considerations in safeguarding pupils, maintaining public confidence in the profession and upholding proper standards of conduct, the panel recommended a prohibition order with no provision for a review period, noting there was “limited evidence within the bundle to address Mr Johnson’s insight and remorse”.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The consequences began at once: the school suspended Johnson upon his arrest in May 2024 and accepted his resignation within weeks, and the headteacher referred him to the regulator that October. In the criminal proceedings, the judge took what he described as an atypical course in imposing a community rather than custodial sentence, citing the prompt admissions, the almost immediate resignation and Johnson’s good character. The regulatory response was starker. The panel considered that “public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened” if conduct such as that found against Johnson were not treated with the utmost seriousness, and that his behaviour was outside that which could reasonably be tolerated. It observed that no evidence of his teaching ability had been provided, but that the adverse public interest considerations outweighed any interest in retaining him in the profession.

Current Status

Johnson is subject to a prohibition order imposed by the Secretary of State in a decision dated 29 January 2026 and published on 18 February 2026, with no provision for a review period. The Secretary of State judged that the lack of insight meant “there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour”, putting the future wellbeing of pupils at risk, and gave that consideration considerable weight. Because the order makes no provision for review, it contains no route by which Johnson can seek his restoration to the profession. The five-year sexual harm prevention order imposed at sentencing in October 2024 remains in force alongside the requirements of the community order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The prohibition order ends any prospect of Johnson returning to the profession he entered in 2018: having resigned in June 2024, he is now barred from teaching, with no review of the order available. Beyond the workplace consequences, the sentence imposed in October 2024 — an 18-month community order, 70 hours of unpaid work, 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a five-year sexual harm prevention order — carries continuing obligations and restrictions. The panel’s published findings, including its conclusion that someone prepared to download indecent images of children does not show the requisite respect for the safeguarding of children, remain permanently on the public record.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Daniel Johnson,” published 18 February 2026 — source