Ms Harriet Coleman

Introduction

Harriet Coleman is a former teacher at Wood Bank School in Halifax, a specialist school, who is now banned from teaching for life. Employed at the school from 1 September 2021, she assaulted a child referred to as Child A on 26 January 2022, pleaded guilty at Bradford Magistrates’ Court on 25 May 2022 to assault by beating contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and then gave shifting accounts of the incident that a Teaching Regulation Agency panel found dishonest. She admitted the facts, and on 13 March 2024 Sarah Buxcey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited her from teaching indefinitely with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Coleman joined Wood Bank School as a teacher on 1 September 2021. On 26 January 2022 an incident occurred between her and Child A, and the school took a statement from her that day before informing the LADO and MAST and commencing an investigation. She provided a handwritten note to the school on 27 January 2022 and attended a further meeting that day, after which she was suspended.

In March 2022 the police interviewed Coleman and her colleagues. A disciplinary meeting was held on 23 May 2022, and on 25 May 2022 she pleaded guilty at Bradford Magistrates’ Court to the offence of assault with battery. The school held a disciplinary hearing on 14 July 2022, communicated its outcome by letter dated 22 July 2022, and referred the case to the TRA on 28 July 2022. The TRA agreed to her request that the allegations be considered without a hearing, on the basis of a signed statement of agreed facts dated 11 September 2023.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Admitted misconduct. Ms Coleman admitted the allegations in a signed statement of agreed facts considered by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel, admitting unacceptable professional conduct, conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute and a conviction of a relevant offence. The panel found all the allegations proved. The conviction is a court-record fact: on or around 25 May 2022 she was convicted of assault of Child A by beating him, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

The assault itself was only part of the case. The panel also found proved the allegation that Coleman provided inaccurate accounts of the 26 January 2022 incident, denying that she pushed, kicked or pulled Child A’s hair, in her statement dated 26 January 2022, in her handwritten statement of 27 January 2022, and at the meeting on 27 January 2022 — right up until she was told that CCTV evidence existed. At the start of that meeting she said: “I promise I didn’t kick him”, and denied pulling his hair; once the existence of CCTV was revealed, she said “I may have kicked him…I remember kicking him”. The panel found she changed her account in response to being told about the footage.

The panel concluded that Coleman’s conduct was dishonest and displayed a lack of integrity: applying the standards of the ordinary honest person, it found she must have known her original accounts were not wholly correct, and she has since acknowledged that her actions were dishonest and lacked integrity. The handwritten statement was found to present a positive and caring demeanour while obfuscating the true nature of the incident, brief on the event itself yet unnecessarily specific about irrelevant factors. The panel accepted the memorandum of conviction as conclusive proof of the conviction, found it a relevant offence, and held the dishonesty findings amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel treated the offence as particularly serious because the violence was directed towards a child in her care, at a specialist school, one who required some level of physical management; the child’s behaviour, in context, did not appear exceptional and there was no evidence of appropriate de-escalation strategies being used, so her response was disproportionate. While it accepted her guilty plea and admissions as acknowledgement of wrongdoing, the panel was concerned that little remorse or insight was shown, particularly for the impact on the pupil, and could not be confident she had made sufficient progress to remove the risk of repetition. Character statements from her family and a friend were noted, but there were no references from colleagues attesting to her teaching abilities. The panel found the public interest outweighed her interests, citing the violent nature of the incident against a vulnerable pupil and her attempts to provide a false narrative that protected her.

Current Status

The panel announced its determination on 27 February 2024, having considered the case at a private virtual meeting that day without a hearing. On 13 March 2024 Sarah Buxcey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, made a prohibition order taking effect from the date it was served. Coleman is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England; in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved, the decision maker decided she is not entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach. She has a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice of the order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Coleman’s first year at Wood Bank School ended with her suspension within months of the assault and a guilty plea three months later, and the prohibition order ends her teaching career in England permanently, with no review period and no restoration route. Because the offence carried no imprisonment, the panel placed it at the less serious end of the possible spectrum, but held that violence against a child in a teacher’s care, combined with dishonest statements during the investigation, made her incompatible with the profession. Her admission of dishonesty came only after the CCTV accounted her earlier denials; the decision records no public statement from her beyond the agreed facts and investigation admissions.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Harriet Coleman” — source