PE teacher barred from teaching indefinitely after lying about playing for West Bromwich Albion to get job
A PE teacher from the Wirral has been banned from teaching for life after falsely saying that he was a former player for West Brom and Leicester City.
A professional conduct panel has barred Aaron Smith, aged 44, from teaching in schools indefinitely after finding that he had lied repeatedly about his employment history.
The conduct panel on October 3 was held by the Teaching Regulation Agency and headed by panel chair, Tony Coyne, and concerned the misconduct of Mr Smith over his teaching career.
The panel found that when Mr Smith completed his application form for Woodlands Primary School, in Birkenhead, in July 2015, he had stated that he had formally been employed at Leicester City Council.
He also stated that he had been a former professional/apprentice football player at West Bromwich Albion Football Club from June 1997 to April 2000.
He had also stated that he had been employed as a professional football player at Leicester City Football Club from June 2000 to December 2001, and even referred to a "professional football contract" within his cover letter.
The lie came to light after an assembly that was held in February 2016.
In the assembly, Mr Smith had shared his experiences of being a former player for both clubs; however, following the assembly, a pupil or a parent contacted the school saying that they could not find information about Mr Smith online.
