A TEACHER who failed to tell his new bosses he had been sacked from his old school for gross misconduct has been banned from the classroom for life.

David Lavery also falsely said he had been an education officer for Lancashire FA, a claim which emerged after senior staff at Darwen Alridge Community Academy launched a probe into his background.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Mr Lavery, who is in his late 20s, has now been given a lifetime prohibition from the profession following a disciplinary hearing before the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) which found he had been ‘seriously dishonest’ in his dealings.

He qualified as a teacher in 2010, gaining his first job at a community college in Leicestershire before moving to Manor High School in Oadby, in Leicester, where he remained until December 2013.

After he was taken on bosses at DACA discovered he had been dismissed from Manor High on the grounds of ‘gross misconduct’. The background to his sacking has not been revealed.

This had not been disclosed when Mr Lavery started at the Sudell Road school.

He was suspended in November 2015 and resigned the following month, the NCTL hearing was told.

An inquiry also proved that one actual element of his CV, an education officer’s post at Lancashire FA, was also bogus. An e-mail from the FA confirmed that the post had never existed and there was no record of him being employed by the organisation.

A NCTL hearing report stated: “It is clear to the panel that Mr Lavery consciously and deliberately entered incorrect and incomplete information in his application form. He knew that his history would likely be an obstacle to his securing a new job, and he purposefully wanted to conceal this.”

Mr Lavery’s actions were said to amount to “serious dishonesty”, which had been sustained over a long period of time.

He told investigators that he had been suffering from anxiety and depression at the time of the matters - though no medical evidence was provided.

The teacher was also criticised for “knowingly denying the academy the opportunity that children were safeguarded by investigating the reasons surrounding his dismissal”.

His lifetime ban was announced by Jayne Millions, a decision maker from the Department of Education, after consideration of the evidence.

“In view off the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Lavery shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach,” she added.

A DACA spokesman said that in November 2015, a member of staff highlighted a concern to senior management relating to Mr Lavery’s previous employment in Leicestershire.

The spokesman said: “Mr Lavery was immediately suspended from work by the academy, pending an investigation into alleged falsification of his previous employment record, and he resigned his position shortly afterwards.

“The academy has co-operated fully with the local authority and other agencies and provided full details of its investigation to the NCTL. It is understood that this investigation has directly led to the prohibition order being placed on Mr Lavery.

“It is also understood that further investigations may be continuing, so it would be inappropriate for the academy to comment further at this time.”

Mr Lavery, who the panel noted had ‘expressed deep regret for his actions’, has the right to appeal to the High Court against his ban within 28 days.