James Gardner

Introduction

James Gardner was a PE and Science teacher at Broomhill Bank School in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, a special needs school for students with communication and interaction difficulties, most of whom have an autism diagnosis. Within months of joining in September 2019 he was accused of physically handling two pupils at an off-site event, using a homophobic slur in front of a pupil and smoking near another, and of concealing both his incomplete NQT induction and a previous dismissal for gross misconduct when he applied. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel found the core allegations proved in April 2023, and on 12 April 2023 he was banned from teaching indefinitely.

Background Information

Gardner was born on 22 January 1982 and held TRA reference 18976. He was recruited to Broomhill Bank School in or around July 2019 on the recommendation of a teaching agency and started on 1 September 2019. When applying he did not disclose that he had not completed the three-term induction required of a newly qualified teacher, nor that he had been dismissed from an earlier teaching post, at a school whose name is redacted in the published decision, for gross misconduct. At interview he said he had left that post because of extensive travelling and a wish to spend more time with his young children. The school took up references only from the agency and a school where he had done brief supply work.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Physical handling of pupils at an off-site event, a homophobic remark, and dishonest non-disclosure on his job application.

The concealment unravelled quickly. On 23 September 2019 Gardner mentioned to his line manager that he had not completed his NQT year, forcing the school to appoint and train a mentor and give him a reduced timetable, though it agreed to put him back on the NQT programme. Liaising with the Kent Local Authority NQT team, the school then learned of the earlier gross-misconduct dismissal. The panel found both non-disclosures were made to improve his prospects of securing or retaining the post, and that his failure to disclose his NQT status “would be viewed as dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people”, as was the concealed dismissal. He had only, in his own words, “settled” into the job before revealing the missing induction.

On 6 November 2019, at an off-site school football match, Pupil B, playing in goal, picked up an injury and left the pitch. Her boyfriend, Pupil A, tried to calm her and persuade her to return. Gardner interrupted Pupil A, placed his hands on his shoulders and pushed him out of the way, telling him to get back on the pitch. He then shouted at Pupil B that she had embarrassed him and was representing the school, put his hands on her shoulders, pushed her against a wall and kept his hands there for about two minutes. The panel found the inappropriate physical contact proved, partly on what Gardner himself had told the school’s disciplinary meeting on 14 November 2019, where he said he had held Pupil B “almost shaking her by the shoulders” and admitted touching Pupil A to turn him around. At the hearing he denied pushing or pulling either pupil, but the panel was satisfied, on his own evidence, that the contact happened and was not appropriate: Pupil B was not at risk of harming herself or anyone else, so there was no justification for any physical contact.

The same day, travelling to the event by car, Gardner described the singer Freddie Mercury as “a faggot” when a Queen song played on the radio. He admitted using the word in writing, accepted it was homophobic and offensive, and called it a joke in extremely bad taste. The panel found the allegation proved: Pupil C was in the back seat, and though there was no clear evidence he actually heard the remark, Gardner had created a situation in which he might have heard it and was reckless as to whether he could. The panel also found proved that he smoked in the vicinity of a pupil, lighting a cigarette near Pupil B and, on his own account at the disciplinary meeting, saying he smoked in front of students because they were all 19. One allegation failed: that he discussed his previous recreational drug use with Pupil C was found not proved for lack of evidence of any actual discussion.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Gardner contested the case, attending the first two days of the virtual hearing on 3 to 5 April 2023, absent on the third and unrepresented throughout. The hearing took place in private, save for the public announcement of the findings, because personal matters pervaded his evidence. The panel found allegations 1a, 1b, 1c(i), 2a, 2b and 3 proved, amounting to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, in breach of the Teachers’ Standards on dignity, safeguarding and respect for the rights of others. Noting behaviours associated with fraud or serious dishonesty and with intolerance on grounds of sexual orientation, it found some insight but not full insight, and recommended prohibition with immediate effect and a three-year review period, those aggravators warranting more than the two-year minimum.

Current Status

Decision maker John Knowles, acting for the Secretary of State, issued the prohibition order on 12 April 2023. Gardner 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 before 14 April 2026; this is not an automatic right, and without success he remains prohibited for life. The decision maker accepted the three-year review period as proportionate, weighing the dishonesty found, the lack of full insight and the homophobic dialogue, and gave particular weight to the damage a finding of dishonesty does to the profession’s reputation. The order took effect when served, with a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Gardner’s time at Broomhill Bank School ended in November 2019, less than three months after he started: after a disciplinary meeting on 14 November 2019 at which he made a number of admissions, the school referred him to the TRA. The prohibition order ends any prospect of teaching in England indefinitely, and although a review application is possible from April 2026, the reasoning on dishonesty and partial insight signals a high bar. The dishonesty findings and the permanent publication of the decision follow him well beyond the classroom.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr James Gardner” — source