Trevor Hodge, a former physical education teacher at Featherstone High School in Southall, has avoided a ban from the teaching profession after admitting that sexual images were found on a school-issued iPad.

The case was reviewed by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), with a final decision issued by the Department for Education in April 2025.

The incident came to light in March 2023, when IT staff at the school discovered several adult sexual images stored on an iPad assigned to Mr. Hodge. The device was in regular use for school purposes, including lessons and administrative tasks.

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Mr. Hodge admitted to the presence of the images on the device but explained that they had been unintentionally uploaded through an automatic syncing process with his personal mobile phone. He maintained that he had not intentionally transferred the material onto the school device and that the content was not accessed during school hours or in the presence of students.

The TRA panel accepted Mr. Hodge’s explanation and determined that the images, while clearly inappropriate for a professional setting, did not appear to have been obtained or viewed with sexual intent while using school equipment. The panel also considered that the material did not involve illegal content or minors, and there was no indication of risk to students.

While the panel found that Mr. Hodge’s actions demonstrated a lapse in professional judgment and created potential safeguarding concerns, they did not classify his conduct as "unacceptable professional conduct" or "conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute." These are the legal thresholds typically required to issue a prohibition order.

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In reaching its conclusion, the panel took into account Mr. Hodge’s previously unblemished teaching record, character references, and expressions of remorse. It also noted that he had fully cooperated with the investigation and had shown insight into the seriousness of the matter.

The final decision was made by an official acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, who agreed with the panel’s recommendation not to impose a teaching ban. Instead, the details of the case and findings have been published publicly as a formal record of the disciplinary outcome.

Mr. Hodge is therefore not prohibited from teaching and remains eligible to apply for teaching roles, though any potential employer would have access to the published findings and may consider them as part of future recruitment decisions.