Mr Daniel Sim

Introduction

Daniel Sim was deputy headteacher of Kingsthorpe College in Northampton until his dismissal in 2019. On 5 May 2021 he was convicted at Northampton Magistrates’ Court of ten offences: two counts of distributing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child, six counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel found the allegation proved and the convictions to be relevant offences at a meeting on 19 December 2023, and David Oatley, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State, banned Sim from teaching for life. The order contains no provision for a review period, and in view of the seriousness of the offences he is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. Sim admitted the facts, and the case was decided without a hearing at his own request.

Background Information

Sim was employed as deputy headteacher at Kingsthorpe College between 18 April 2017 and 15 May 2019. On or around 22 February 2019 the college was made aware that he had been arrested regarding suspected allegations of criminal activity: Northamptonshire Police had received third party intelligence that he had distributed inappropriate and illegal content, and conducted a criminal investigation. The college ran its own internal investigation and, following a disciplinary hearing, summarily dismissed him in May 2019. His conviction followed at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 5 May 2021, with sentencing at Northampton Crown Court on 19 August 2021. The case was referred to the TRA.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted offences, admitted. The single allegation was conviction of a relevant offence; Sim admitted the facts and that they fell short of the standards of behaviour expected of a teacher.

The panel considered the allegation set out in the notice of meeting dated 9 October 2023: that on or around 5 May 2021 Sim was convicted at Northampton Magistrates’ Court of two counts of distribution of an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, six counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, and two counts of possession of extreme pornographic images — act of intercourse/oral sex with animals. The allegation as drafted had cited the wrong month of conviction; the certificate of conviction showed 5 May 2021, so the panel amended the allegation, satisfied that the correction changed neither the nature, scope nor seriousness of the allegation. Sim had admitted the facts in his response to the notice of proceedings dated 4 March 2022 and in a statement of agreed facts signed on 28 June 2022, which the presenting officer also signed. The TRA agreed to his request that the allegation be considered without a hearing, and the panel met on 19 December 2023 by virtual meeting without Sim, any representative for him, or the presenting officer.

The panel accepted the certificate of conviction as conclusive proof of the conviction and the facts it necessarily implied, finding no exceptional circumstances, and noted that Sim had pleaded guilty to all offences. He was sentenced to a 24 month community order with three requirements, including 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activity, made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, required to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years, and ordered to pay £300 in prosecution costs and a £95 victim’s surcharge. The panel found the allegation proved and the convictions relevant offences, and found breaches of the Teachers’ Standards. It noted his actions did not appear to involve a pupil or a colleague at the college, but that he was found to be “communicating with a 16 year old girl and threatened to post a sexual image of her online”, and that some of the images contained children of school age.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found Sim’s actions to be “calculated and motivated”, with no evidence that he acted under duress. It took account of mitigation: he had pleaded guilty and made admissions, and in a statement to the TRA dated 20 September 2023 said he had worked tirelessly to address his failings, citing the Safer Lives Programme, the Paula Hall Foundation Kick Start Recovery Programme and Lucy Faithful Forum ‘Stop It Now’ online modules, alongside sentencing remarks noting three references that spoke highly of him. The panel found he had expressed some insight and remorse, but that he had begun the courses only while under investigation, that his supporting evidence was undated or of some age — the most recent item dated 8 June 2021 — and that no recent references supported his current risk level. Publication of the findings alone would, it held, unacceptably compromise the public interest, and it recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect, with no provision for a review period.

Current Status

David Oatley decided the case on behalf of the Secretary of State on 22 December 2023. He found the conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession and breached the duties set out in the statutory guidance Keeping children safe in education. On the review period, he held that allowing one was not sufficient to maintain public confidence in the profession, citing “the serious nature of the offences of which Mr Sim was convicted and the lack of evidence of insight and current risk level”. Sim is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England, and is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. The order takes effect from service; he has 28 days to appeal to the High Court’s King’s Bench Division.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Sim’s deputy headship ended with his summary dismissal in May 2019, after the college learned of his arrest; the prohibition order now forecloses any return to teaching or work in schools, sixth form colleges, relevant youth accommodation or children’s homes in England for life. In his statement to the TRA he fully accepted that his career teaching or working with children was over. The panel weighed the evidence that he had contributed significantly to learning and teaching, highlighted in a successful Ofsted inspection, but gave it limited weight because it was not recent; against it stood the nature and seriousness of the offences and the lack of current evidence of rehabilitation. The public interest, it concluded, outweighed his interests.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Daniel Sim” — source