Richard Leighfield

Introduction

Richard Leighfield is a former Year 5 class teacher at Northwick Manor Primary School in Worcester who was banned from teaching for life in May 2026 after being convicted of child sexual offences. On 17 December 2024 he was convicted at Worcester Magistrates’ Court of attempting to cause/incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, possessing prohibited images of a child, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child; he was later jailed for a total of 30 months. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel found the allegation against him proved in its entirety, and the Secretary of State imposed a prohibition order with no review period — meaning he shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

Background Information

Leighfield had worked in teaching since 1994 and, according to his application form to the school, had been promoted to assistant headteacher at a previous school. He joined Northwick Manor Primary School as a Year 5 class teacher on 1 September 2012 and spent twelve years there. On 22 August 2024 the police informed the school that he had been arrested; he was suspended on 27 August 2024, and was dismissed from his role at a disciplinary hearing on 11 December 2024 — six days before his conviction. The matter was referred to the TRA. In those proceedings Leighfield signed a statement of agreed facts on 5 December 2025, admitted he had been convicted as alleged, and asked for the case to be considered without a hearing; the panel met virtually on 8 May 2026, in private, without the presenting officer or Leighfield in attendance.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Leighfield was convicted by a criminal court, and his convictions are matters of court record accepted by the TRA panel as conclusive proof; nothing in this section is an unadjudicated allegation. He admitted the facts before the panel, in a signed statement of agreed facts dated 5 December 2025.

On 17 December 2024, Leighfield was convicted at Worcester Magistrates’ Court of four offences: attempting to cause/incite a girl 13–15 to engage in sexual activity; making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child; possessing prohibited images of a child; and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. The certificate of conviction clarified that the first count related to “cause/incite a girl 13 – 15 to engage in sexual activity – no penetration” and that the image-making count covered “categories A, B and C – one count of each”, including one Category A image, the most serious. In the Crown Court on 23 January 2025 he was sentenced to a total of 30 months’ imprisonment; an order was made for the deprivation and destruction of his telephone, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was made until further order, he was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register until further order, and he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge. The panel noted there was no evidence that any child involved was a pupil he taught, but that they were of school age. The certificate did not state whether he pleaded guilty in the criminal proceedings; the school’s referral stated that he attended court and pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel considered the offences “very serious offences” and noted that his behaviour “ultimately led to a sentence of imprisonment, which was indicative of the seriousness of the offences committed”. It found there was no evidence that his actions were not deliberate, and none that he acted under extreme duress. He presented no evidence of exceptionally high standards of professional conduct, no character references, and no evidence of reflection upon the offences or of rehabilitation; in the absence of such evidence, and given the seriousness of the offences, “the panel was concerned by the risk of repetition”. The panel accepted there was no previous misconduct or disciplinary action on record at the school, and cast no doubt on his abilities as an educator, but found his behaviour “fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher, and he placed his own interests over that of a child”. It concluded that public confidence in the profession could be “seriously weakened” if such conduct were not treated with the utmost seriousness, and recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period. Decision maker Marc Cavey, acting for the Secretary of State, agreed, giving considerable weight to the lack of insight and the risk of repetition.

Current Status

The panel’s determination is dated 8 May 2026, and Marc Cavey’s decision on behalf of the Secretary of State is dated 11 May 2026. Leighfield is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Because of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, he shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach: the order carries no review period and no route back. The order takes effect from the date it is served on him, and he has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days from the date he is given notice of it. The decision was published on 27 May 2026.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Leighfield’s teaching career, begun in 1994 and including an assistant headship, is permanently over: the ban is for life, with no entitlement ever to apply for restoration. The criminal consequences run alongside it — a total of 30 months’ imprisonment, registration on the Sex Offenders’ Register until further order, and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order, all of which will surface in any future criminal record disclosure for work with children or vulnerable people. The published decision fixes the whole record in searchable form: a primary school Year 5 teacher whose convictions for offences against children of school age ended both his freedom and his profession.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Richard Leighfield,” published 27 May 2026 — source