A PE teacher from Middlesbrough has been prohibited from the classroom indefinitely after Department for Education officials overturned an independent panel’s recommendation concerning his conduct.
Sam Everett, who worked at Haughton Academy in Darlington for two years, will not be able to return to teach amid the fallout of social media conduct involving “far right” rhetoric.
Mr Everett had used the platform X to express views on political matters and current affairs while openly identifying himself as a teacher.
His posts included telling migrants to “respect our laws or leave”, writing: “Completely agree, if you don’t respect our laws, culture and way of life you should leave, nobody is forcing you to stay.”
When responding to content from Britain First describing Channel migrants as “illegal migrant invaders”, he posted: “Deploy the navy.”
Mr Everett claimed he had not realised Britain First was a far-right organisation when he engaged with their material.
The Teaching Regulation Agency’s professional conduct panel, which examined his case over three days in January and February, determined that Mr Everett was neither racist nor sexist, concluding he should be permitted to continue teaching.
Panel members believed that simply publishing their findings would constitute adequate sanction for his conduct.
Sam Everett won’t be able to return to the classroom for his social media conduct
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However, departmental decision-makers rejected this assessment, ruling that the panel had “failed to give sufficient weight” to how serious his behaviour was.
The panel determined his statement on Channel migrants was offensive, as it appeared to advocate military force against unarmed individuals in small boats.
Another post shared by the teacher read: “There’s not an Islamist problem in our country according to some. How many times do we get called racists for being English?”
Someone identified his employer from his profile and contacted the school, triggering the investigation.
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While the panel upheld several complaints and found multiple posts offensive, concluding Mr Everett had shown a lack of tolerance, it explicitly declined to label him racist or sexist.
Colleagues provided positive testimony about his character, and his professional record working with pupils from diverse backgrounds remained unblemished.
A subsequent employer hired him through an agency with full awareness of the misconduct proceedings, and indicated they would readily employ him again.
The panel’s report noted that Mr Everett had “demonstrated insight and remorse from the point at which the concerns were raised”, and had removed his posts and deactivated his social media accounts.
It determined there was “no significant ongoing risk of repetition” of such conduct.
Despite the panel’s recommendation against prohibition, the Secretary of State’s decision-maker imposed the indefinite ban, stating that merely publishing the findings would not “satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession”.
Mr Everett was dismissed from Haughton Academy in June 2024 and must wait a minimum of two years before submitting an application for reinstatement to the teaching profession, with no assurance his request will be granted.
The panel acknowledged that although Mr Everett had not named his school on social media, he had admitted failing to properly configure privacy settings on his account, making him identifiable as a teacher and enabling someone to report their concerns to his employer.