By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A former Nottinghamshire teacher has been banned from the profession indefinitely after police discovered indecent images of children on his computer.
Allan Sharp, 35, worked at South Nottinghamshire Academy in Radcliffe-on-Trent, and Aldercar High School in Derbyshire.
A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard he displayed “conduct of the most serious nature”, including possession of indecent images of 13 and 14-year-old boys.
In legal terms, the images were from categories A, B and C and involved penetrative sexual activity. They appeared to have been kept by Mr Sharp from 2009 until his arrest in 2019.
The panel was told Mr Sharp was an “experienced teacher” and “role model” at the schools where he worked.
Now, the TRA has ruled that Mr Sharp be prohibited from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in England.
Mr Sharp started working as a maths teacher at South Nottinghamshire Academy in 2009 and later taught at Aldercar High School in Langley Mill from 2017.
In August 2019, he was arrested on suspicion of making indecent
images of children, following a search of his home by the police.
He was suspended from Aldercar High School and resigned in December.
In July 2020, he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court and was convicted of three offences contrary to the Protection of Children Act 1978.
He was sentenced to a community order for two years and told to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work. He was placed on the Sex Offenders’ register for five years.
The courts also banned him from using computers or devices capable of accessing the internet and possessing any device capable of storing digital images unless specific conditions are met.
The TRA report, which was published in June 2022, states: “Mr Sharp’s behaviour in committing these offences engaged public and child protection issues.
“That was apparent not just from the nature of the offences but also the wider context including how it was that Mr Sharp’s conduct came to light and the age of the children depicted in the images.
“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.”
In deciding whether to issue a teaching ban, the panel found that Mr Sharp “appeared to have had an otherwise unblemished record” and “evidence of good character prior to his conviction”.
Panel members also reported that Mr Sharp had fully engaged with the TRA, made full admissions, and “there was some evidence of regret and remorse”.
But the report added: “There was no evidence of insight in relation to Mr Sharp’s understanding of the implications his conduct gave rise to.
“For example, repeated reference was made to the fact that the offences were non-contact in nature. This failed to recognise that whilst the offences involved images, they were images of real children who had been abused.”
A spokesperson for Aldercar High School said: “Mr Sharp worked briefly for the school, leaving in 2019, and was not an employee of the school when any of the offences took place.”
South Nottinghamshire Academy did not respond to our request for comment.
