PE teacher banned after falsely claiming to be a former professional footballer

KANIKA SINGH RATHORE,

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Perhaps Teacher Used to be barred from teaching After falsely claiming he had played for two professional football teams and the England youth team – only to be found out by a student.

Between 2015 and 2016, Aaron Smith revealed to his employer that he represented West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City between the ages of 11 and 20, as well as representing England schoolboys at U15 level.

The Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel heard he also falsified a number of documents to make his claims appear to pupils, inserted his name into team sheets including footballers’ lists and edited a Leicester team photo with his face altered.

A student and his father became upset when they could not find information online about the football career of Mr Smith, who worked as a teacher at Woodlands Primary School between 2015 and 2016.

The teacher showed many items to the students including football shirts

The teacher showed many items to the students including football shirts ,getty images,

The panel heard that suspicions were raised in February 2016, when Mr Smith produced an incorrect team sheet for England with his name on it during a school assembly.

A witness told the panel that when the student and father raised concerns when they could not find him online, the Football Association confirmed that no match had taken place and that Mr Smith had not represented England at any level.

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The teacher also showed the students several items, including a football shirt, medals and a photo edited with his face.

Mr. Smith made false claims on his job applications for both schools

Mr. Smith made false claims on his job applications for both schools ,Getty Images/iStockphoto,

The panel heard he later went to work at Co-op Academy Bebbington between 2016 and 2022.

But when applying for a job at the school, the panel found she had falsely claimed to be working in two part-time roles through SY4C, a childcare and sports education service.

Later, in 2021, a welfare meeting was held with Mr Smith after his repeated absences from school – the panel found that he had provided a false letter from a doctor at the Liverpool Psychiatry and Counseling Service, which was later found not to exist.

The school became suspicious of the letter due to incorrect spelling and grammatical usage.

The panel concluded that it was satisfied that Mr Smith’s conduct “constituted misconduct of a serious nature which falls well short of the standards expected of the profession”.

He has been banned from teaching for at least five years.

Uk