NORTHUMBERLAND TEACHER BANNED FOR INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT DURING NIGHT OUT
A teacher who was employed at Ovingham Middle School in Northumberland has been indefinitely banned from the classroom following misconduct during a night out.Vincent Collister, who worked as a year six tutor and geography curriculum lead since September 2022, was found to have engaged in inappropriate behaviour involving physical contact with a man and a woman.
The incident was reported after a referral was made to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) in October 2023.
During the TRA hearing, it was revealed that Mr.
Collister stroked a man's beard and then placed his hand under the man's beard, pulling down gently, describing it as a stroke.
He also reportedly grabbed the man's crotch, an act the man described as surprising and thought to be "a funny thing to do".
On the same night, Mr.
Collister touched a woman's breast and twisted her nipple piercing, actions that left her feeling "awkward and embarrassed" and unsure of how to respond.
When questioned about his behaviour, Collister responded with "I just had to" and told the woman, "If I had a beautiful woman like you at home, I would want to have sex with you all the time," while sending her text messages suggesting that she join him in his hotel.
Collister denied the allegations at the hearing, but the panel found that, on the balance of probabilities, he was more likely than not to have committed the acts.
The panel stated that "Mr Collister's actions constituted conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute." Despite finding his behaviour was out of character, the panel noted that he showed only "limited remorse" and there was not "sufficient evidence to be satisfied that Mr Collister would not repeat this behaviour in the future." Consequently, the TRA issued Collister with a prohibition order preventing him from teaching in any school, sixth form college, or children's home in England.
He will have the opportunity to appeal the ban after two years or within 28 days through the High Court.
The order can be reviewed or appealed, but his actions have effectively ended his teaching career in the sector for now.
