Kofi Mpiani

Introduction

Kofi Mpiani is a London education worker who spent more than a decade as a My Body Instructor at Ian Mikardo High School, a school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. In February 2026 a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found one allegation against him proved as misconduct: that he failed to tell his school that a report about his cannabis use had been made to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The Secretary of State’s decision maker concluded that a ban was not warranted, and the sanction was publication of the findings alone — Mpiani is not prohibited from teaching.

Background Information

His contract of employment recorded continuous employment at the school from 1 August 2011; Mpiani said he began in September 2010. He brought three historic convictions into the case: a December 2001 conviction at Southwark Crown Court for possessing cannabis resin with intent to supply, and two later convictions, in 2003 and 2005, at Thames Magistrates’ Court for simple cannabis possession. He had disclosed them verbally when he applied for the role. The 2001 records conflicted — the court certificate said intent to supply, the police national computer said simple possession — but the panel accepted the certificate as conclusive proof.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Admitted failing to disclose a LADO referral; findings published with no prohibition order. A TRA professional conduct panel heard the case virtually on 2–5 February 2026, and the decision on behalf of the Secretary of State was made on 6 February 2026.

The events that ended Mpiani’s school career began outside it. On 5 December 2021 a foster-agency assessor (Witness B) visited his home to assess his suitability as a back-up foster carer. He disclosed his cannabis convictions to her; she testified that he also told her he still used cannabis, roughly every other weekend. She referred the matter to the LADO on 8 December 2021, advising him to inform his employer. The LADO contacted the school the next day, but Mpiani did not tell the school himself. A senior colleague (Witness A) testified that when he asked Mpiani directly whether there was anything he wished to disclose, Mpiani said there was not — an account Mpiani disputed, saying he had already spoken to the school’s safeguarding lead. Mpiani admitted the allegation, accepting he should have gone straight to the safeguarding team and explaining he had assumed the school would hear about it anyway. Having seen the assessor’s report, the school advised on 7 January 2022 that suspension was appropriate; a disciplinary hearing followed in May 2022, and the school referred him to the TRA that August.

The panel also examined two surrounding allegations. The first was that he had used cannabis on more than one occasion during his employment. Mpiani denied this, saying he had stopped after Boxing Day 2010, but the panel preferred the assessor’s account, corroborated by her LADO referral, her risk assessment report and an 8 December 2021 email the panel found strongly suggested current rather than historic use; it found this allegation proved. The second concerned a Wembley trip he had organised and led on 14 November 2019, during which he suspected a pupil (Pupil A) of smoking cannabis. The panel found he should have alerted the senior leader on the trip, also its lead safeguarding officer, at once rather than at its end, and proved that part. But it did not fault his decision to let Pupil A remain on the trip rather than sending him home: that allegation was expressly not proved, and the school treated the episode as a lessons-learned exercise.

In the end only one finding amounted to misconduct. The cannabis use, which took place entirely outside school, and the delayed report from the trip did not breach the Teachers’ Standards; the withheld LADO referral did, breaching the standard requiring teachers to have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach. The three historic convictions were proved as facts, but the panel found that none amounted to a relevant conviction, and it was not satisfied that any of the conduct involved breaches of Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel placed the disclosure failure at the less serious end of the spectrum, describing it as “an isolated incident that occurred over a short period of time” which caused no harm to pupils and did not affect his teaching. It identified “a strong public interest consideration in retaining the teacher in the profession”, finding no doubt had been cast on his abilities as an educator. The panel noted his good prior history and lack of previous formal disciplinary proceedings, and read four character references; Witness A described his contribution as generally very good. Outside work he volunteers twice a week in some of London’s highest-risk communities, steering young people away from gangs and drugs. The panel found him genuinely remorseful and commended him, finding it would be “a sad loss to the profession if he were prevented from teaching”. It recommended no prohibition order, with publication of the findings instead.

Current Status

On 6 February 2026 Stuart Blomfield, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State, accepted the panel’s recommendation. Giving considerable weight to the panel’s findings on insight and remorse, he concluded: “I have concluded that a prohibition order is not proportionate or in the public interest.” No prohibition order was made — no review period, no set-aside date — and Mpiani remains free to teach. The sanction is the published finding of unacceptable professional conduct — tied to the withheld LADO referral alone — which stands on the public TRA record. Matters that were not proved, or did not amount to misconduct or a relevant conviction, were expressly put aside by the decision maker.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The referral cost Mpiani dearly before the regulator ruled: he was suspended in January 2022, put through a disciplinary process, and the foster-carer approval he sought was refused. His TRA record now permanently carries the published finding of unacceptable professional conduct. He was not banned, however, and the panel noted he was still doing outreach work with vulnerable young people, work it found valuable.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Kofi Mpiani” — source