Russell Gregory

Introduction

Russell Gregory, 46, an assistant headteacher at Clevedon School in North Somerset, was banned from teaching indefinitely after a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel found he sent sexually motivated messages to three members of staff in 2023, including telling two colleagues he would “love to watch” them perform a sex act. The ban was imposed on 16 July 2026, and the TRA report was published on 29 September 2026. The panel found Gregory, a senior leader responsible for staff culture in his “ethos and outcomes” role, had failed to maintain professional boundaries with junior staff and brought the teaching profession into disrepute.

Background Information

Gregory was assistant headteacher for ethos and outcomes at Clevedon School, a role that carried explicit responsibility for standards of behaviour within the school community — the panel later described him as “expected to be a positive role model” towards pupils “but also to staff”. The school is run by Futura Learning, a multi-academy trust. In July 2023, a male member of staff raised concerns about messages Gregory had sent in a WhatsApp group, triggering an internal investigation. Gregory had not worked for the trust since 2023 by the time the case reached the regulator.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Regulatory findings, not criminal charges. The TRA panel’s findings are civil-standard conclusions about professional misconduct. No criminal proceedings arising from the messages appear in the published record.

The messages at the centre of the case were sent in July 2023. In a WhatsApp group, Gregory messaged two colleagues saying “just want you all to myself” and told them he “would love to watch” them perform a sex act. When questioned, Gregory denied the messages were sexually motivated, but the panel rejected his account and judged the messages “sexually motivated”. He also messaged a third colleague — the reporting indicates some of the recipients were junior staff — saying he had been dreaming of her and making comments about her physical appearance.

The panel found an “evident power dynamic” in the WhatsApp group, given the disparity between Gregory’s seniority and that of the staff taking part, and held that the volume of inappropriate messages showed his conduct was “habitual” — a pattern rather than a single lapse. It found he had “failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries” with all three staff members, that his conduct fell “significantly short” of the standards expected of teachers, and that he had demonstrated “a flagrant disregard for his role and responsibilities as a senior leader and member of the teaching profession”. The panel also found a “lack of insight and evidence of remediation” and that he was “yet to demonstrate sufficient remorse”.

On that basis the panel found unacceptable professional conduct that brought the profession into disrepute, and recommended a prohibition order. Futura Learning said Gregory had not worked for the trust since 2023 and that “all allegations of harassment are taken seriously”; the trust said it had investigated the concerns “promptly and fairly” and was “committed to providing a work and learning environment free from harassment and discrimination”.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The then-Secretary of State’s decision maker accepted the panel’s recommendation and imposed an indefinite prohibition order on 16 July 2026, banning Gregory from teaching in schools, sixth form colleges, children’s homes and other education settings in England. The BBC and The Independent reported the case when the TRA published its report on 29 September 2026. The prohibition covers not just classrooms but any work setting involving children under the order’s terms, and it attached to a finding pattern — abuse of seniority over junior staff — that the panel said would damage the perception of the profession as a whole if treated lightly.

Current Status

Gregory is prohibited from teaching indefinitely. He may apply for the order to be set aside after three years — from July 2029 — but any removal is not automatic and would require the decision maker’s approval on fresh evidence of fitness to teach. He has not worked for Futura Learning since 2023, and no public response from Gregory to the findings is recorded.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The prohibition ends Gregory’s teaching career in England unless a future review succeeds, and its indefinite terms — with a three-year minimum before any application — reflect the panel’s findings of habitual conduct, absent insight and insufficient remorse. A senior leader charged with staff culture was barred for the sexualised treatment of junior colleagues; the published report ensures the findings remain part of any checkable record. The case was reported nationally under headlines about a senior teacher telling staff he would “love to watch” a sex act, fixing the misconduct to his name in the public record.

Sources

• *BBC News, “Assistant head struck off after sending ‘sexually motivated texts’ to staff,” Sep 30, 2026 — source