School teacher banned for life after watching porn in Hemel Hempstead classroom

A teacher has been banned for life after watching pornographic videos in the classroom.
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Julian Barrett admitted watching the explicit x-rated videos while pupils were in the room at Roman Fields School in Hemel Hempstead.

A conduct panel heard how on occasions he even drew the curtains in the classroom while viewing the material – with one student even catching him in the act.

The 53-year-old was employed at the school – which mostly caters for pupils with autism and social interaction struggles – from September 2014 until July 2017.

He has now been prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation, or children’s home in England.

The disgraced former teacher watched the sexual footage on his computer, while within the school premises, on a regular basis between December 9-15 in 2016.

On a number of occasions, Barrett admitted that pupils were present in the classroom when such videos were on his screen.

In particular on December 12, after 11.12am, a pupil went up to Mr Barrett’s desk while he was viewing two individuals having sexual intercourse.

The conduct hearing heard that a CCTV log clearly showed Mr Barrett accessing and viewing videos of a sexual nature on school premises. Mr Barrett, who had a previously good record, admitted the facts of the allegations and that it amounted to ‘unacceptable professional conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute’.

The conduct panel at the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) found that while Mr Barrett was receiving treatment for a health condition, it had ‘no evidence to satisfy it that such treatment will address the deep seated attitude which resulted in the behaviours found proven’.

Consequently, they found Mr Barrett presents a ‘continuing risk in terms of repetition of his conduct’.

Trevor Orchard, headteacher at Roman Fields, told the Gazette: “Julian Barrett was teaching at Roman Fields up until December 2016.

“When these allegations came to light, we followed DfE regulations by investigating immediately, which led to his dismissal and a referral to the NCTL.

“The school takes its responsibility for the safety of pupils seriously, and has robust safeguarding procedures in place.

“Mr Barrett no longer works at Roman Fields.”

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