Nottingham teacher banned after breaking man's leg outside bar

A teacher from Nottingham has been banned from the profession indefinitely after breaking a man's leg outside a bar. Jonathan Drew, 36, was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court in 2022, of grievous bodily harm relating to an incident that had taken place on December 20, 2019.

Documents say that Mr Drew, who was employed at Westbury Academy in Bilborough at the time, was in the vicinity of a member of public who had been removed from a bar and who was being restrained by door staff. He stood on the victim's legs, breaking them and causing him to require surgery.

Police put an appeal out around a month later and Drew handed himself in. He pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm on August 19, 2022 and was sentenced to eight months in jail suspended for 12 months, 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £6000 in compensation to the victim.

On October 25, a teacher misconduct panel convened to discuss whether Mr Drew could continue in his profession. The panel outcome document says that the panel understood that "the extent of the injury was inflicted without intent on the part of Mr Drew," meaning they believed, due to the comparatively light sentence, that Mr Drew did not mean to break the man's leg.

Mr Drew said that the judge had said during his court hearing that the teacher was "a good contributor to society" and that the judge had "no doubt that he would never see me in a situation like this again." Mr Drew also described the incident as "isolated" and of an "uncharacteristic nature," saying that he was "genuinely" trying to assist the door staff in restraining the man.

He also described himself as a “conscientious and caring individual” who "is genuinely passionate about the education of young people." After the incident, in 2020, he reported his involvement with the police to his headteacher, and continued working at the school as it was "agreed (he) posed no threat to children or staff."

This remained the case until the charges were brought against him in 2022. Four positive character references were also provided to the panel, with one saying "he is absolutely distraught and incredibly remorseful” and another adding “any actions of aggression, violence or force are completely out of character for Mr Drew."

Members on the panel wrote that they considered how long had passed since the original incident that led to the conviction, and that there was no evidence that Mr Drew had been involved in anything of the sort since. But they were concerned that he had, in his submissions, focused on the impact of his behaviour on himself and his loved ones rather than on his victim.

The panel cited the Teachers' Standards, which says that teachers "uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school," and found that Mr Drew had breached this. After consideration, the panel settled on a prohibition order, which is usually for life, but was reduced in the case.

It means Mr Drew is prohibited from teaching indefinitely, and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He can apply for the order to be set aside, but not before November 1, 2028.