Teacher banned for failing to disclose fiancé's sex convictions

Thomas Ridgway, a 31-year-old photography teacher, has been banned from the teaching profession following his failure to disclose that his fiancé was a registered child sex offender. Ridgway was employed at Heathfield School, an all-girls private boarding school in Ascot, Berkshire, between September 2023 and February 2024.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found that Ridgway did not inform school management that his partner had been convicted in 2023 on 10 counts of sexual activity with a minor. The school only learned of the convictions in December 2023 after receiving an email from a member of the public.

While Ridgway denied deliberately withholding the information and claimed he was unaware of the specific details of the allegations, the TRA panel noted a lack of “regret” or “remorse” regarding the non-disclosure. Ridgway resigned from his position in February 2024 after being suspended in January.