Teacher faked illness to take up new job

A teacher who pretended to be sick in order to work at another school has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

Nadeem Ahmed worked at Bradford Academy Trust for more than three weeks in September 2023 after telling Bishop Young C of E Academy, in Leeds, he was unwell.

Following a hearing in May - at which Ahmed admitted his conduct had brought the profession into disrepute - a Teacher Misconduct Panel said his behaviour "fell significantly short of the standards expected".

Acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, David Oatley, however, opted not to impose a ban, stating that publication of the panel's findings would be "sufficient to send an appropriate message".

The panel heard Ahmed had been working at Bishop Young Academy since October 2020, but in March 2023 he was interviewed and offered the role of full-time Religious Education subject lead at Bradford Academy.

In June 2023 he submitted his resignation from Bishop Young Academy but was told he had missed the 31 May deadline for leaving at the end of term, and so his last day would be 31 December 2023.

In response, Ahmed told the school he thought, for various reasons, it was better for him to leave sooner rather than later, and the school agreed he could leave that summer if they were able to find a replacement.

On 11 July 2023, the vacancy to recruit for Ahmed's replacement closed with no applicants and the role was readvertised.

On 29 August 2023, Ahmed began working at Bradford Academy and told Bishop Academy he was unfit to work, later submitting a Statutory Statement of Fitness for Work, covering the period from 7 September to 24 October 2023.

His deception was discovered when Ahmed told another teacher at Bradford Academy he had previously worked at Bishop Young Academy, the teacher said he had a friend who worked there.

Later that month the two teachers discussed Ahmed and discovered he was still employed at Bishop Young Academy, they reported the matter to Bradford Academy's HR team resulting in his suspension on 27 September 2023.

During the hearing, one witness told the panel Ahmed had been a committed teacher who made a significant positive impact on his students.

In her statement she referenced his "fantastic work, commitment, honesty and reliability" and how "students and staff were benefitting from his expertise and support in whole school improvement".

The report said: "She noted he had made a particular difference to the lives of disadvantaged pupils who would have achieved poor results without his teaching and whose life chances were increased because of his commitment to them."

Following the misconduct hearing the panel concluded while Ahmed's dishonesty was "serious" it was "not the most serious", having arisen in a particular set of circumstances when Ahmed was "feeling under particular stress".

They said: "Mr Ahmed was not, for example, seeking to gain any financial advantage by his actions, but was rather trying to find a way out of the situation in which he had found himself (albeit one of his own making). He had not fully thought through the implications of his dishonest actions and the need always to be open and transparent."

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