Mr James Shawley

The Secretary of State does not make these decisions themselves. They are made by a senior official on the recommendation of an independent panel.

Teacher's name: Mr James Shawley

Teacher reference number: 9743061

Teacher's date of birth: 22 March 1976

Location teacher worked: Lincolnshire, East Midlands

Date of professional conduct panel: 23 October 2023

Outcome type: prohibition order

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with The Teacher's’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012, a professional conduct panel was convened to consider the case of Mr James Shawley, formerly employed in Lincolnshire, East Midlands.

Teacher misconduct

Ground Floor, South

Cheylesmore House

5 Quinton RoadCoventryCV1 2WT

Email TRA.Casework@education.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7593 5393

Information about regulating the teaching profession and the process for dealing with serious teacher misconduct.

Mr James Shawley: Professional conduct panel meeting outcome Panel decision and reasons on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education October 2023 2 Contents Introduction 3 Allegations 3 Preliminary applications 4 Summary of evidence 4 Documents 4 Statement of agreed facts 4 Decision and reasons 5 Findings of fact 5 Panel’s recommendation to the Secretary of State 8 Decision and reasons on behalf of the Secretary of State 12 3 Professional conduct panel decision and recommendations, and decision on behalf of the Secretary of State Teacher: Mr James Shawley Teacher ref number: 9743061 Teacher date of birth: 22 March 1976 TRA reference: 19028 Date of determination: 23 October 2023 Former employer: St Bartholomew Primary School Introduction A professional conduct panel (“the panel”) of the Teaching Regulation Agency (“the TRA”) convened virtually via Microsoft Teams on 23 October 2023 to consider the case of Mr James Shawley. The panel members were Ms Penny Griffith (lay panellist – in the chair), Mr Alan Wells (former teacher panellist) and Ms Rosemary Joyce (teacher panellist). The legal adviser to the panel was Mr Delme Griffiths of Blake Morgan LLP solicitors. In advance of the meeting, after taking into consideration the public interest and the interests of justice, the TRA agreed to a request from Mr Shawley that the allegations be considered without a hearing. Mr Shawley provided a signed statement of agreed facts and admitted conviction of a relevant offence. The panel considered the case at a meeting without the attendance of a presenting officer, Mr Shawley or any representative appointed on his behalf. The meeting took place in private. Allegations The panel considered the allegations set out in the notice of meeting dated 9 August 2023. It was alleged that Mr Shawley was guilty of having been convicted of a relevant offence, in that: 4 1. On 14 May 2021, he was convicted of one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a 14 year old child, contrary to section 15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003; 2. On 14 May 2021, he was convicted of two counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, contrary to section 10(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003; 3. On 14 May 2021, he was convicted of one count of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence, contrary to section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Mr Shawley admitted the facts of the allegations and that each of the offences amounted to a conviction for a relevant offence. Preliminary applications There were no preliminary applications. Summary of evidence Documents In advance of the meeting, the panel received a bundle of documents which included: Section 1: Chronology and anonymised individual list – pages 3 to 4 Section 2: Notice of referral, response and notice of meeting – pages 5 to 11a Section 3: Statement of agreed facts and presenting officer representations – pages 12 to 16 Section 4: TRA documents – pages 17 to 38 Section 5: Teacher's responses – pages 39 to 41 The panel members confirmed that they had read all of the documents within the bundle, in advance of the meeting. Statement of agreed facts The panel considered a statement of agreed facts which was signed by Mr Shawley on 28 January 2023. 5 Decision and reasons The panel announced its decision and reasons as follows: The panel carefully considered the case and reached a decision. In advance of the meeting, the TRA agreed to a request from Mr Shawley for the allegations to be considered without a hearing. The panel had the ability to direct that the case be considered at a hearing if required in the interests of justice or in the public interest. The panel did not determine that such a direction was necessary or appropriate in this case. The panel proceeded to consider the case carefully, having read all of the documents, and reached a decision. It accepted the legal advice provided. Mr Shawley was previously employed as the headteacher of St Batholomew Primary School ("the School"). He commenced work at the School in 2016. On 23 December 2019, Mr Shawley was arrested at home and subsequently interviewed under caution following communications with an undercover officer, acting pursuant to a covert operation and posing as a child, from 9 to 22 December 2019. Following this, Mr Shawley was suspended by the School. On 16 January 2020, Mr Shawley was referred to the TRA by Lincolnshire Police. On 14 May 2021, Mr Shawley was convicted of four offences contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 at Lincoln Crown Court. Findings of fact The findings of fact are as follows: The panel found the following particulars of the allegations against you proved, for these reasons: 1. On 14 May 2021, you were convicted of one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a 14 year old child, contrary to section 15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003; 2. On 14 May 2021, you were convicted of two counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, contrary to section 10(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003; 6 3. On 14 May 2021, you were convicted of one count of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence, contrary to section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The panel considered allegations 1, 2 and 3 together. The panel was presented with a statement of agreed facts, signed by Mr Shawley, in which all of the allegations were admitted. The following matters were agreed: (Redacted) The panel was also presented with a certificate of conviction from Lincoln Crown Court and a copy of Mr Shawley's PNC record, confirming that Mr Shawley was convicted, on 14 May 2021, of each of the offences particularised in allegations 1, 2 and 3. He was sentenced to: a. A term of imprisonment, totalling 4 years 6 months; b. A sexual harm prevention order for 15 years; and e. Be placed on the Barring List and registered under section 92 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 indefinitely. The panel was presented with the sentencing remarks of the presiding judge sitting at Court on 14 May 2020, summarising the offences and the reasons for the sentence imposed. The panel accepted the certificate of conviction as conclusive proof of the commission of these offences by Mr Shawley. In light of this and Mr Shawley's admissions, it found allegations 1, 2 and 3 proved. Findings as to conviction of a relevant offence Having found the allegations proved, the panel went on to consider whether the facts of those proved allegations amounted to a conviction of a relevant offence, which Mr Shawley admitted. In doing so, the panel had regard to the document Teacher Misconduct: The Prohibition of Teachers, which is referred to as “the Advice”. The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Shawley in relation to the facts it found proved involved breaches of the Teachers’ Standards. The panel considered that by reference to Part 2, Mr Shawley was in breach of the following standards: 7  Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by o Treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position o having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions o showing tolerance of and respect for the rights of others  Teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach ...  Teachers must have an understanding of, and always act within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities. Further and in addition, the panel noted that, pursuant to the Advice it is likely that: • A conviction for any offence that led to a term of imprisonment, including any suspended sentence will be considered “a relevant offence". • A conviction for any offence that relates to, or involves, sexual communication with a child will be considered “a relevant offence”. Over and above these matters, the panel determined that Mr Shawley's actions were clearly relevant to teaching, working with children and working in an education setting. Each of these offences were very serious in nature and related to children, although it is important to record that there was no link with Mr Shawley's former employer. The panel also took account of the way the teaching profession is viewed by others. The panel considered that Mr Shawley's behaviour in committing these offences would undoubtedly affect public confidence in the teaching profession, particularly given the influence that teachers may have on pupils, parents and others in the community. His conduct ran counter to what should be at the very core of the practice of a teacher with a duty of care towards children. As the Court recognised when imposing sentence, Mr Shawley was "more aware than most of the need to protect young people". Mr Shawley's behaviour ultimately led to a lengthy term of imprisonment, which demonstrated the public and child protection issues engaged by his actions together with the other aspects of the sentence imposed. The panel did not consider there to be any relevant mitigating circumstances in relation to the commission of these offences. 8 In conclusion and for all these reasons, the panel found that the seriousness of the offending behaviour that led to the conviction was directly relevant to Mr Shawley's ongoing suitability to teach. The panel considered that a finding that this conviction was for relevant offences was necessary to reaffirm clear standards of conduct so as to maintain public confidence in the teaching profession. Panel’s reco