Neil Hansford: Sheffield school maternity leave maths teacher banned over heroin use

A maternity leave teacher who worked at one of Sheffield's best-performing schools before he was caught using heroin has been banned from the profession.

Neil Hansford, 45, was a newly qualified teacher who took a maternity leave role at High Storrs School in April 2022, where he reportedly taught maths.

However, his time with the school ended in June 2022 when the school learned of an "incident" - not on school grounds - where he took heroin.

At a misconduct hearing held by the Teaching Regulation Agency, Mr Hansford was banned from the profession for at least four years, with the panel noting they felt the 45-year-old "had not taken responsibility for his actions". Mr Hansford did not attend the hearing in September.

A report from the hearing published today (December 4) reads: "Whilst there was no evidence that Mr Hansford used drugs at the school or that he was ever under the influence of drugs whilst in the presence of pupils, Mr Hansford's actions were illegal."

The panel heard a member of staff at High Storrs School was alerted to an 'incident' involving Mr Hansford and Class A drugs through a phone call to them on June 13, 2022.

The panel said the fact Mr Hansford did not raise his "dependency upon or issue with drugs" with the school called into question his "understanding of safeguarding".

He also may have reportedly acquired the Class A drug from the dark web, which the panel found "concerning".

The report also did not speak kindly about Mr Hansford's time as a teacher, writing: "Mr Hansford was a newly qualified teacher at the point at which he commenced work at the Sshool. Such evidence as there was regarding his practice was not wholly positive.

"Further, whilst he had showed regret for the loss of his career, there was limited evidence of a passion for education and teaching.

"Mr Hansford had sufficient time and opportunity to demonstrate that he was capable of full remediation, to show that he had gained insight and to take responsibility for his actions. He had failed to do so."

The panel barred Mr Hansford from teaching indefinitely and he may not apply to teach again for four years.