A teacher who held up a butter knife to a colleague’s throat threatening to ‘slash’ her has been banned from ever re-entering the classroom following a misconduct hearing.
David Crawford worked at Fishburn Primary School, near Stockton, when he assaulted a woman teacher by holding a knife up to her throat on May 4, 2020. Summarising the conduct at a virtual hearing, presenting officer for the Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) Adam Slack, said Mr Crawford assaulted the colleague on school grounds.
He said: “[Name of teacher] reported that Mr Crawford assaulted her in the main school office. She alleges that he approached her from behind, put his arm across her chest and with his other hand held a butter knife to her throat and made threatening comments.”
Mr Slack said the incident was witnessed by another member of staff who saw the knife. He stated later that day Mr Crawford – who started working at the school in May 2005 – approached the woman to apologise for what he described as “clowning around”. The incident was reported to Durham County Council and later the police.
He said on August 9, 2021, the teacher was convicted of assault at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court and was fined £440. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge and court costs. A referral was made to the TRA on September 13, 2021.
Last month, the panel considered whether the teacher was guilty of having been convicted of a relevant offence and heard from the victim. A new report states: “Witness A explained that as Mr Crawford pressed the knife to her neck, he made a comment that he was going to ‘slash’ her. She said she tried to wiggle back to free herself and told him to pack it in. She said that Mr Crawford laughed and said ‘the things I could do to you girl’ and told her that she needed ‘slashing down a size’.
“Witness A said she told Mr Crawford that no one had ever said that to her before and he replied that he had done ‘quite a bit of slashing down to size’ in his time and he left the room. Witness A said the whole incident lasted approximately two minutes. Afterwards, Witness A said Witness D looked at her and she burst into tears.”
The panel found the allegation proved against him for reasons which include:
- The panel was provided with a copy of the memorandum of conviction from County Durham and Darlington Magistrates’ Court which was in the bundle. This confirmed that Mr Crawford was convicted of the assault of Witness A on May 4 2020 at the school
- The panel also heard witness evidence relating to the allegation and the circumstances leading up to the allegation
The panel heard following the incident Witness A said she made calls to the school’s business manager and HR and told them what had happened. She said that Mr Crawford returned an hour later and asked to speak with her on her own. He indicated that he wanted to talk to her in the staff room, but Witness A said she was not going to be alone with him. She said he then tried to make a joke of the incident and said he was just “clowning around”.
The panel found Mr Crawford guilty of the allegation and said a prohibition order was appropriate, the report states: “The panel was of the view that prohibition was both proportionate and appropriate and concluded that the public interest considerations outweighed the interests of Mr Crawford.
“The seriousness of the offence and that the offence involved violence with a knife, took place in the school, against a colleague, during school hours and while there were pupils in school, were significant factors in forming that opinion. Accordingly, the panel made a recommendation to the Secretary of State that a prohibition order should be imposed with immediate effect.”
Mr Crawford did not provide any admission of fact or any submissions in respect of the allegation, although he did state in an email on December 4, 2024, that the accusations against him were “dishonest”.
Teesside Live previously reported he said: “Unfortunately for me the dishonesty and accusations against me cannot be proven and as such, any defence of my position cannot by amounted.” He said he could not present any new information to the hearing and would not attend.
Mr Crawford was banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. The report states: “Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegation found proved against him, Mr Crawford shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”
The former Fishburn Primary School teacher has a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days from the date he is given notice of this order. Fishburn Primary School was transferred to Eden Academy Trust last year. The trust declined to comment due to the incident being prior to their take over.
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