Trainee teacher Sean Haythornthwaite lifted a schoolgirl and held her upside down at Seascale School in Cumbria and later appeared in court, but has avoided a ban
A trainee music teacher who was arrested after holding a schoolgirl upside down by her ankles to “cheer her up” has escaped a ban.
In February 2022 a parent complained to Seascale School in Cumbria when Sean Haythornthwaite lifted their daughter and held her upside down in front of other children. He was arrested and charged but failed to inform his bosses at Cumbria County Council.
A Teaching Regulation Agency ruling, published this week, reveals the teacher’s first court appearance was on Tuesday April 19 but he lied about why he was absent from an inset day. He later insisted he had not been trying to mislead his employer but had difficulty communicating with his boss.
A week later, Mr Haythornthwaite informed his bosses of the charge against him and he was suspended. On July 22, 2022, he was convicted of assault and sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £100 compensation. He resigned two months later.
Witnesses to the incident involving the pupil described feeling “utterly shocked” with one saying he “seemed broken” afterwards. Witness A said she was “utterly shocked” when she heard about the allegation. She said “I couldn’t believe it. It was “very much out of character”. She described Mr Haythornthwaite as always having a “quiet and calm” manner, LancashireLive reported.
Witness B added Mr Haythornthwaite “certainly had regret for what he did”. Witness C said “He was upset”…” He was really distressed… He was a bit devastated. He just seemed broken.”
Mr Haythornthwaite later insisted he was simply trying to cheer up the pupil. He addedd: “I took a parental role in a situation to try and cheer a child up because they are my responsibility and because I did not have the knowledge to keep myself safe in a teaching environment I made a well intended but poor choice, one that ruined my life and destroyed my teaching career.”
“After discussing the charge notification with the solicitor, I asked him what I should tell my employer, he told me to ‘Hang fire for now’ as in his words the charge was ‘Nonsense’ and felt the case would be dropped upon review. After discussing my case with my new solicitor I asked what to tell my employer regarding the case and the hearing and he said to see what happened at the hearing as in his opinion he felt the case would be dropped upon review.
“In summary, I never sought to mislead my employer about the charge, I simply followed the advice of my legal team. I knew at some point I would need to inform my employer about the charge, even if the case was dropped. Had the advice from either solicitor at any point prior to the hearing been to contact my employer and inform them I would have done so.”
Despite the teacher’s actions bringing the profession into disrepute and placing a pupil at risk of harm a Teaching Regulation Agency panel noted he had received little support or training as part of his bid to obtain qualified teacher status. The panel said they were “of the view Mr Haythornthwaite did not have the experience and the level of training and ongoing support that comes with obtaining qualified teacher status. He was only observed once a year and his only previous experience had been in teaching adults”.
The panel did not make an order preventing Mr Haythornthwaite from teaching and concluded: “The panel took the view Mr Haythornthwaite’s conduct was not malicious and was out of character. The panel further expressed the view that there was no intent by Mr Haythornthwaite to harm Pupil A.
“The panel noted there was no opposing evidence to suggest there was another reason for Mr Haythornthwaite’s conduct other than simply trying to cheer Pupil A up to make her laugh.
“The panel considered the publication of the adverse findings it had made was sufficient to send an appropriate message to the teacher as to the standards of behaviour are not acceptable, and the publication would meet the public interest requirement of declaring proper standards of the profession.”
