A teacher who allowed her sex offender partner onto school grounds in Buckinghamshire has not been banned from teaching. This decision has sparked outrage and raised concerns about the safety of students.
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) decided not to issue a prohibition order against Alice Cresswell, who worked as a teacher at St Monica's Catholic Primary School in Milton Keynes from September 2022 to July 2023.
During the hearing, a professional conduct panel in August described Cresswell's actions as ‘naïve’ and a ‘very serious lapse of judgment’.
Ms Cresswell started a relationship with ‘Person A’ in 2018, before the individual was convicted of making indecent images of children three years later. He was subsequently placed on the sex offender's register for five years and sentenced to a community order for three years. The individual was further convicted of making, distributing, and possessing indecent images of children in 2022.
Ms Cresswell told the panel that her partner committed his offense ‘a long time before’ he met her ‘after inadvertently clicking on a pop-up advert and viewing indecent images of children out of curiosity’.
The former teacher said she had relied on advice from another person and ‘felt that she did not need’ to disclose her relationship with Person A to the school. The man had also told her that he had conducted research and that his conviction ‘wasn’t going to impact her job’.
However, the panel found that Ms Cresswell's reliance on her partner's claims was “naïve”.
“Given that Ms Cresswell was aware that Person A had already lied to her about his conviction and failed to inform her that he was on the sex offenders register, the panel found her trust in the information he provided somewhat naïve,” a decision maker for the TRA said.
The watchdog also found that on or around March 31, 2023, Ms Cresswell allowed her partner to drive her into the school grounds when she ‘knew that they posed a risk to children’.
In her evidence, the former teacher accepted that there was ‘no justification for allowing Person A’ into the school grounds and, in hindsight, she could see that this posed a ‘big risk’ to pupils.
In January 2023, Person A was arrested, and the police searched Ms Cresswell’s home, where he was living. She initially claimed the police search was related to stolen laptops before admitting the truth during a meeting at which she was suspended. She later apologized for lying about the reason for the search.
The panel considered several mitigating factors when considering whether to impose a teaching ban on Ms Cresswell. They acknowledged that she ‘had an otherwise unblemished record’, was popular with pupils and staff, ‘was a very good teacher’ and ‘did not feel well-equipped’ by the school's safeguarding training.
However, the panel also said Ms Cresswell’s actions amounted to a breach of the teachers’ standards, that she mislead the school and that her actions had the potential to impact on pupils.
“I have concluded that a prohibition order is not proportionate or in the public interest,” a TRA decision maker said. “I consider that the publication of the findings made would be sufficient to send an appropriate message to the teacher as to the standards of behaviour that were not acceptable, and that the publication would meet the public interest requirement of declaring proper standards of the profession.”
Ms Cresswell has not worked as a teacher since leaving St Monica’s but has got a job in retail which she feels is ‘helping her to regain the confidence she lost as a result of her suspension’.
The decision not to ban Ms Cresswell from teaching has sparked outrage and concerns about the safety of students. Some critics argue that allowing a teacher who knowingly allowed a sex offender onto school grounds to continue in the profession sends the wrong message and undermines public trust in the education system.
A spokesperson for St Monica’s told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “At St Monica’s Catholic Primary School, we are fully committed to the safeguarding and wellbeing of our pupils, in line with national guidance.
We work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our pupils and in this case, a teacher lost her position, and all appropriate action has been taken.
Our Ofsted inspection in June 2024 highlighted that the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts our pupils’ interests first and that safeguarding is effective.”
This incident highlights the importance of robust safeguarding procedures in schools and the need for teachers to be fully aware of their responsibilities in protecting students. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of current safeguarding policies and the need for better training and support for teachers.
The decision to allow Ms Cresswell to continue teaching has sparked debate about the balance between protecting children and giving teachers a second chance. Critics argue that the panel's decision to prioritize Ms Cresswell's potential future contributions to the profession over the safety of students is deeply troubling. Others argue that the panel's decision is a reflection of the need for a more nuanced approach to teacher misconduct cases, one that acknowledges the complexity of human behavior and the possibility of rehabilitation.
Ultimately, the decision to allow Ms Cresswell to continue teaching is a complex one that has far-reaching implications. It raises important questions about the responsibility of teachers to protect children, the effectiveness of current safeguarding policies, and the balance between protecting children and giving teachers a second chance. The debate surrounding this case is likely to continue, as the education community grapples with the difficult task of balancing the needs of teachers with the safety of students.
