SIMON PICKHAVER BANNED FOR LIFE AFTER INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR IN TAUNTON SCHOOLS

The professional career of Simon Pickhaver, a former teacher based in Taunton, has been irrevocably damaged following serious allegations of misconduct spanning over four decades. His actions, which involved inappropriate communications and conduct with multiple teenage students, ultimately led to his permanent ban from working in any educational setting in England.

Pickhaver, aged 59, served as a head of year at Heathfield Community School in Taunton until he was dismissed in January 2018. His dismissal followed revelations of inappropriate interactions with three teenage pupils, which included email exchanges and personal meetings outside of school hours. The misconduct was brought to light during a professional conduct hearing, revealing a pattern of behavior that had persisted despite prior warnings and suspensions.

According to the hearing, Pickhaver had engaged in email correspondence with Pupils A and B, some of which contained highly inappropriate language and expressions of personal feelings. For instance, in emails sent during the summer of 2016, he wrote to Pupil A, “Why am I so excited about seeing YOU again on Friday?” and later confided that he felt something of a “physical nature” for her, adding, “I love you as much as I ever have.” These messages demonstrated a clear breach of professional boundaries and a disregard for the standards expected of educators.

Further investigation uncovered that Pickhaver, who was married and a father, had a troubling history of misconduct dating back to the 1980s. It was revealed that he had been suspended from another school in Taunton during that period for engaging in an “intimate” and inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Despite this suspension, he returned to teaching, but his pattern of misconduct continued. There were subsequent instances of inappropriate communication with pupils, which resulted in disciplinary actions from his employers.

Pickhaver’s employment at Heathfield Community School began in April 2002. He was suspended in August 2016 following allegations of misconduct and was ultimately dismissed in January 2018. During his tenure, he had previously received guidance from the school’s head teacher in 2006 after engaging in inappropriate communication with another pupil, Pupil C. Despite this, he continued to have inappropriate interactions, receiving advice on three separate occasions between 2006 and 2009.

His latest misconduct was brought to light when Pupil A disclosed that Pickhaver had been emailing her about non-school-related matters and had met her outside of school premises. The report from the hearing emphasized that Pickhaver’s behavior went “far beyond what was appropriate” for a teacher-pupil relationship. He admitted that he should not have acted as he did and expressed remorse, apologizing for any distress caused. Nonetheless, the panel concluded that his misconduct was deliberate, persistent, and serious, falling well short of the professional standards expected of teachers.

The report further stated that Pickhaver’s actions were likely to damage the reputation of the teaching profession and that he posed a continuing risk to pupils. The panel expressed a lack of confidence in his ability to control his behavior in the future, leading to the decision that he should be permanently barred from teaching. Pickhaver, who has experienced health issues recently, wrote to the hearing indicating that he had no intention of returning to the profession.

Following the hearing, which he did not attend, Dawn Dandy from the Department for Education confirmed that Simon Pickhaver is prohibited from teaching indefinitely across all educational and youth settings in England. She also stated that, given the severity of the proven allegations, he would not be eligible to apply for reinstatement of his teaching credentials, effectively ending his career in education permanently.