Former Furness Academy teacher David Goodwin handed lifetime ban

David Goodwin, who taught at Furness Academy in Barrow, exchanged sexually explicit messages with an undercover police officer who he thought was a 12-year-old girl.

The former teacher pleaded guilty to two child sex offences and was handed a suspended sentence by Preston Crown Court in 2021.

Now a Teacher Regulation Agency hearing has ordered a lifetime ban from teaching. 

The panel heard Goodwin was arrested on suspicion of sexual communication with a child on April 21 April 2021.

The next day he was suspended by Furness Academy.

He resigned on May 17 2021.

The tribunal heard Goodwin had taught humanities at the school since 2010 and had a 'previously unblemished career history'.

According to the tribunal papers, the school's headteacher said there were no file notes concerning Goodwin’s conduct, behaviour or attitude to be shared, or any note of any past disciplinary action or complaints.

The panel found during the academy’s investigation Goodwin had 'sought to excuse his behaviour' by saying he suspected the person the 'child' he had been speaking to was an older person and that he had decided to expose the person as a catfish.

The panel said he had expressed remorse for the situation he found himself in but appeared to have 'limited' insight.

The panel said: There was a strong public interest consideration in respect of the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils, given the serious findings of engaging in sexual communications with an individual that Mr Goodwin believed to be twelve years old and attempting to cause her to watch a sexual act.

"Similarly, the panel considered that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Goodwin were not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession."

Furness Academy

Following the hearing, Goodwin was handed a prohibition order banning him from teaching indefinitely.

He cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

Decision maker Sarah Buxcey said: "The panel finds that the conduct of Mr Goodwin fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

"The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a conviction of a relevant offence of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempt to cause a child under 13 to watch a sexual act.

"For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in order to achieve the intended aims of a prohibition order."

Goodwin was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years after he was convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child under 13 to watch a sexual act.