Primary teacher who looked at gay porn on school network after searching for ‘skipped school to f***’ struck off
A PRIMARY teacher who visited gay porn sites while using his school’s internet network has been sacked.
Nicholas Grimshaw was caught looked up terms such as “very gay boys”, and colleagues also discovered similar searches and images on laptop computers issued to year six students.
IT specialists were brought in to St Michael’s School in Reading, Berks, after another teacher raised concerns in January 2014.
Police were alerted, and an investigation into the claims revealed Grimshaw had used his school’s Gmail address over 670 times to look at porn on a number of websites.
He also searched for specific headings between November 2010 and June 2014.
During a professional conduct hearing, the disgraced teacher, 34, claimed he was unaware he was logged onto the school’s private network while looking for the images.
Grimshaw was suspended from work in February 2014 after cops seized laptops and mobiles from his apartment.
He was dismissed from his post on April 30 2015, and banned from teaching indefinitely.
The 34-year-old was labelled “reckless” and “naïve” for failing to realise the implications of visiting gay porn sites on his school’s network during the hearing.
The report read: "On January 27, 2014, a concern was raised by a member of staff at the school about images found on school equipment belonging to Year 6 pupils.
"The school had concerns about its internet filter settings which allowed the images to be obtained and undertook an internal investigation with the assistance of its IT provider.
"The school was subsequently made aware that, unrelated to the original concern raised, two web addresses 'Gayteenvideos' and 'Gayboytubes' had been accessed on school equipment repeatedly between November 2010 and January 2014.
"According to the times that the websites were accessed and the nature of other non-contentious searches undertaken around the same time, the school suspected that it was Mr Grimshaw who was accessing these websites on the school's network."
Mr Grimshaw was responsible for ensuring he understood the school's IT policy
Speaking at the hearing, Grimshaw said he carried the searches out while in the privacy of his own home, and on his own personal equipment.
The former teacher, who started working at St Michael’s in 2005, explained he was logged onto the school’s network by mistake.
"The panel has found however that Mr Grimshaw was naïve and reckless as to whether he was still logged into the school network when accessing the websites and undertaking the searches.
"The panel is satisfied that the conduct of Mr Grimshaw fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. Mr Grimshaw accessed pornography through the school network, on repeated occasions over a significant period of time.
"Mr Grimshaw knew, or ought to have known, that this was in breach of the school's IT policy.
"Mr Grimshaw was responsible for ensuring he understood the school's IT policy and how to correctly use remote access, even if no training was given on the policy or no active discussions took place on the policy.
"The panel accepts Mr Grimshaw's oral evidence that he was not aware that he was still logged into the school's network but the panel found Mr Grimshaw had been naïve and reckless in this respect and this did not excuse his actions."
The panel addressed the police report’s finding that Grimshaw admitted visiting a website with a disclaimer that everyone featured was over 18 years of age.
However, the same site also permitted users to share their own images, making it near impossible to verify ages.
RELATED STORIES
The report said: "Although Mr Grimshaw submitted in oral evidence that he had no intention of viewing images of under 18s and nor did he believe he had, the panel considers that Mr Grimshaw unreasonably ran the risk of doing so and therefore his conduct would be viewed negatively by the public particularly in light of the unique role that teachers can hold, potentially damaging the public perception of the profession.
"Further, Mr Grimshaw searched terms involving the words 'teen', 'boys', 'skipped school to f***' and similar words.
"The panel considers that the public perception would be that undertaking these searches on a school network is both inappropriate and unacceptable for a primary school teacher who should be maintaining public confidence in the profession.
Mr Grimshaw searched terms involving the words 'teen', 'boys', 'skipped school to f***'
"The panel was not persuaded by Mr Grimshaw's submissions that the word 'teen' commonly referred to people between age 18 and 22 on pornographic websites.”
The panel ruled to prohibit Grimshaw from teaching indefinitely.
The 34-year-old will not be able to teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation, or children’s home in England.
He has also been banned from applying to restore his eligibility to teach, “given the seriousness of the allegations proved against him”.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.