Teacher Sacked For Showing Porn

A Worcestershire history teacher has been sacked after he showed pupils a home recorded natural history programme which featured pornography at the end. Michael Collins had recorded the programme onto a personal video tape before transferring it onto a DVD.

He had already been disciplined for downloading pornography while monitoring a pupil on detention at St John’s Middle School, in Bromsgrove. The school sacked him, saying children as young as 11 had seen the film.

Mr Collins had worked at the school for more than 20 years. The incident happened in January, one week after the new headteacher, Wendy Taylor, began her job. He was sacked following a disciplinary hearing in March and has decided not to appeal.

Chair of Governors Revd Nigel Marns said: “When the programme came to an end, after a bit of fuzz and adverts, there was a clip of a pornographic incident which was shown to a class of 30 kids, aged 11 and 12.

“If the incident had occurred on its own then that would be fine, but there had been a previous incident for which he received a final written warning. I wholeheartedly support the decision of the panel of governors and the approach taken by the new headteacher.”