Assistant principal banned over sexual misconduct

An assistant principal who made sexual comments to pupils and staff in a "repeated pattern" has been banned from teaching.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found Sam Piggott guilty of 11 allegations of sexual misconduct while working at North Shore Academy in Stockton-On-Tees between June 2024 and March 2025.

The 33-year-old admitted asking a colleague for a sex act and said to another employee, "I cannot be trusted around drunk children" - comments which made staff and pupils feel "disgusted" and "objectified".

Northern Education Trust (NET), which oversees the academy, said it "took concerns of this nature very seriously and appropriate support was offered to those impacted".

Piggott started working at North Shore Academy as a teaching assistant in 2018 and was promoted to assistant principal on 8 January 2024.

The report said he admitted asking a colleague, who had left him a gift after he covered her lesson, to perform a sex act.

Another incident detailed how Piggott, in front of pupils, made a comment saying "I've got a big one", which he said been taken out of context.

A further witness said in the report how she was "disgusted, objectified and embarrassed" when he said he "nearly putting his sausage" into her when carrying a dinner plate.

The panel also found Piggott guilty of approaching a staff member at a Christmas party, and said he was going to have sex with her, to which a witness said she responded "no, you are not" and he "couldn't take no for an answer".

In a separate allegation, another witness said during a discussion about which pub they should go to, Piggott said: "I cannot be trusted around drunk children".

Piggott described the allegation as "false and vexatious" but the panel found it to be proven.

NET said "as soon as the serious allegations against Piggott were raised, the academy immediately followed the trust's established procedures to investigate the matter". He was suspended on 19 March 2025.

"The trust takes concerns of this nature very seriously and appropriate support was offered to those impacted," a spokesperson said.

In a statement, Piggott said any conversations he had with colleagues that could have been "classed as inappropriate had been mutual and that those colleagues had either at that time, or at another time, responded in a like manner".

He said while working his way up to assistant principal, he felt he may have "rubbed a few of his colleagues up the wrong way", but admitted he may have misread situations and said things that could be construed as inappropriate.

Piggott said he never intentionally wanted to cause upset, for anyone to feel uncomfortable or to have put anyone in a situation where they did not want to be around him.

The panel said Piggott showed a "repeated pattern of wholly inappropriate conduct towards his colleagues, frequently in the presence of pupils".

It said: "There was a strong public interest consideration in respect of the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils, including given the sexual nature of the comments made by Piggott."

On 15 October, Piggott was prohibited from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England indefinitely.

He may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 19 October 2028, two years from the date of this order at the earliest, the TRA said.

Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen to Radio Tees on BBC Sounds.