PE Teacher Stripped of Career After Social Media Controversy
A physical education teacher who urged migrants to 'respect our laws or leave' has been permanently barred from the classroom, despite an independent teaching panel exonerating him of racism and sexism and recommending he retain his position. Sam Everett, who taught at Haughton Academy in Darlington for two years, utilised a Twitter/X account to disseminate his political and current affairs opinions, leading to a professional misconduct investigation.
Investigation and Panel Findings
Mr Everett, hailing from Middlesbrough, was transparent about his teaching profession online but omitted his workplace details. Nevertheless, an individual identified his employer and reported him to the school, triggering a formal inquiry. He acknowledged ownership of the account but refuted claims that his posts were racist or sexist.
The Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel, responsible for adjudicating teacher dismissals, convened over three days in January and February this year. After reviewing all evidence, the panel concurred with Mr Everett, determining he was neither racist nor sexist and advised against a ban, deeming the publication of its findings adequate disciplinary action.
Department for Education Overrules Panel
Officials at the Department for Education subsequently overturned this recommendation, asserting the panel had 'failed to give sufficient weight' to the gravity of his conduct. Consequently, they imposed an indefinite teaching prohibition. Mr Everett was dismissed from Haughton Academy in June 2024 and is now prohibited from teaching indefinitely, with a mandatory minimum two-year wait before any reinstatement application, which offers no certainty of success.
Content of Controversial Posts
The investigation centred on several social media posts, including one stating: 'if you don’t respect our laws, culture and way of life you should leave, nobody is forcing you to stay.' In response to a comment about Islamic law, he wrote: 'Sick of hearing rubbish being spouted by these idiots. They can live in societies where their values are accepted, it isn’t here. Leave. You won’t be missed.'
Additionally, he endorsed deploying the Navy to intercept small boats in the Channel, a post the panel deemed offensive for implying advocacy of military force against unarmed individuals. Mr Everett claimed ignorance of Britain First's far-right affiliation when engaging with their content.
Other posts included criticisms of Islamist issues in Britain, remarks about using 'comrade' warranting deportation to Russia, and a comment about ordering McDonald's nuggets in response to pro-Palestine protests. The panel found most of these offensive and indicative of intolerance but stopped short of labelling them racist or sexist, noting one post about Eddie Izzard did not cross the offensive threshold.
Panel's Mitigating Factors and Final Decision
The panel highlighted mitigating circumstances, such as colleagues' positive testimonials, Mr Everett's unblemished teaching record across diverse student backgrounds, and a subsequent employer's willingness to hire him despite the misconduct hearing. It reported he demonstrated 'insight and remorse' upon the concerns being raised, deleted his posts, and closed his social media accounts, concluding there was 'no significant ongoing risk of repetition.'
However, the Secretary of State’s decision-maker overruled the panel, arguing that mere publication of findings would not 'satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession.' The panel's report noted Mr Everett's failure to apply adequate privacy controls, making him identifiable as a teacher, which enabled the complaint to his school.
Mr Everett was unavailable for comment regarding the ban and his future prospects.
