A FORMER Winterbourne Academy teacher who was convicted of raping a woman has been banned from the profession for life.
David Derrick, aged 43, was jailed for two years and nine months and required to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely in January last year.
Now a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel has struck him off and ruled that Derrick, who taught geography, can never reapply to be a teacher.
The panel held a private virtual hearing at the end of July to consider the case of Derrick, of Warmley, who was not present.
Suspended then sacked by school
It heard that a Local Authority Designated Officer, who oversees investigations into safeguarding concerns or allegations about adults who work with children and young people, received notification in December 2022 that an allegation of rape had been made to the police against Derrick, who had worked at the school since 2008. The allegation did not involve a student at the school.
He was suspended in June 2023 by Olympus Academy Trust, which runs the school, and sacked four months later.
Found guilty by jury
Derrick denied the rape charge when the case went to trial in November the following year, claiming that he “reasonably believed” his victim was consenting, but was unanimously found guilty by a jury at Bristol Crown Court.
In its report, published in August, the Teaching Regulation Agency said: “The panel considered that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Derrick were not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession.
“The panel noted that the Judge was satisfied that Mr Derrick’s behaviour was out of character. The panel did not have enough evidence to form an opinion on that matter.
“The panel also noted that Mr Derrick continued to describe the actions which led to his conviction for rape as an ‘error of judgement’ on his part, which the panel considered suggested a lack of substantive genuine insight into his decisions and their impact.”
Includes reporting by Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service