Teacher had sex with pupil in PE room and told girl to inhale chemicals that made her dizzy

Michael Pedley, 67, was a teacher at the now-closed Needwood School at the time of the incidents between 1981 and 1987.

Pedley faced 17 allegations against five students during his time at the school, which was based at Rangemore Hall in Burton, Staffordshire, all of which were put before a Teacher Regulation Agency Fitness Professional Conduct Panel. Eight of the allegations were proved.

A recent report by a conduct panel found Pedley to have had sex with a pupil of the in a PE storeroom, while other accusations of sexual assault against four other students were also upheld.

The report states that the first incident involved Pedley engaging in inappropriate physical contact with a pupil whilst she was a student at the school, which involved him putting his hands on "one or both of her breasts" whilst in the school corridor.

A second accepted allegation involved the same pupil being taken into a PE locker room where Pedley locked the doors, which had glass panels, and used two gym mats to cover the panels so as to not be seen.

The report states that he then had intercourse with the student. He was reported to have told the student to get onto a gym mat, before climbing on top of her.

The student said Pedley 'did not say anything to her' and 'she just froze'. He then 'got dressed and acted as if nothing had happened'.

The panel also accepted the allegation that Pedley had told another female student to inhale a substance that he had put on a cloth.

The report reads: "After sniffing the cloth again, (the pupil) said she felt the room was spinning, could not see properly and was unsteady on her feet. When she tried to write her name, her handwriting was dreadful and all the other pupils were laughing at her."

The pupil accused Pedley of leading her to a differnt room after she had inhaled the chemical on the cloth, and telling her to lie down before touching her breast, at which point she lost consciousness. This allegation was proven by the panel.

Pedley had denied a series of sexual assaults said to have taken place in the 1980s. He was acquitted of all charges during two criminal trials in 2017 and 2018.

Mr Pedley, who went on to become a headteacher and special needs consultant, denied all the allegations put to him by the panel.

Marc Cavey, who made the decision to ban Mr Pedley from the classroom on behalf of education secretary Gillian Keegan, said: "In this case, the panel has found some of the allegations proven and found that those proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute."

He referred to the panel's comments, that "Mr Pedley's conduct involved serious sexual abuse of children who were particularly vulnerable because of their hearing impairment and being educated away from home"

"As such, the panel decided that it would be proportionate, in all the circumstances, for the prohibition order to be recommended without provision for a review period."

He continued: "These elements are the finding of sexually motivated misconduct towards very vulnerable children and the lack of insight or remorse.

"I consider therefore that allowing for no review period is necessary to maintain public confidence and is proportionate and in the public interest.

"This means that Mr Michael Pedley is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.

"Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Pedley shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach."