Wakefield teacher who asked pupil for sex permanently struck off

A teacher who asked a former pupil to have sex with him has been permanently struck off.

Nicholas Spink, from Wakefield, propositioned the girl in a series of drunken text messages in April 2020.

The 42-year-old also asked her to send him photos of herself.

Following a misconduct hearing Mr Spink, who had been working at Outwood Academy City Fields at the time, was barred from ever teaching again.

He told a Teaching Regulation Agency hearing he was "deeply sorry" for his behaviour. The panel said he had "demonstrated some remorse" but they "did not get the sense [he] appreciated the seriousness of his conduct".

The panel was told Mr Spink claimed to have been drunk when he sent the messages and said his judgment had been "terribly off".

Mr Spink was arrested following the incident but was never charged with a criminal offence in relation to the matter.

He failed to inform the school of his arrest and was suspended in May 2020 before being dismissed two months later.

The panel concluded his behaviour in this incident had been "sexually motivated".

The hearing was also told Mr Spink had provided inappropriate assistance to pupils in relation to an assessment, resulting in them having to re-complete part of the course.

He also failed to enter some of his pupils for an exam and submit examples of work to an exam board for moderation.

Acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, Sarah Buxcey said his "lack of full insight means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour", which "puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils".

She barred him from the teaching professional and ruled that he should not be able to appeal against the ban at any point in the future.

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