A teacher has been found guilty of sending an inappropriate email to a former work colleague and not disclosing to his school he had been banned from teaching.

Paul Blake, who had taught at Caister Academy on the east coast for more than three years up until 2019, has been found guilty by the Teaching Regulation Agency of unprofessional conduct.

The hearing looked at Mr Blake's behaviour while he was a teacher in Canada and how he had not disclosed to Caister Academy that he had been the subject of a disciplinary process by the Ontario College of Teachers organisation.

He had been suspended by Caister Academy after an email was sent to its acting principal in March 2019 about the Canadian hearing.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Paul Blake had sent an inappropriate emailPaul Blake had sent an inappropriate email (Image: Ingram Publishing)

A Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct hearing was told Mr Blake sent an email to a former work colleague who he thought was responsible for him losing his teaching job in Canada.

The report from the hearing said: "Mr Blake admitted that he sent one inappropriate email to an ex-colleague in December 2014.

"The panel received a full copy of the email, which included abusive and offensive language.

"It also contained a photograph of the recipient's deceased mother, and a link to her obituary."

The report said Mr Blake recognised that the email he sent was unkind, hurtful, and unprofessional.

He apologised for it. 

It was found Mr Blake had then failed to tell Caister Academy he had been found guilty by Canadian education authorities of professional misconduct.

As well as sending the inappropriate email he had also been found guilty in Canada of sending additional threatening e-mails in which Mr Blake impersonated one or more former colleagues and vandalising and removing school property.

It had led to his certificate of qualification and registration being revoked. 

The hearing found Mr Blake's conduct amounted to "unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute". 

However the hearing decided not to request the education secretary issue a prohibition notice against Mr Blake.

It concluded that the "conduct found proved against Mr Blake was out of character" and he had not acted deliberately and had learned from the experience.

It said publishing the report in the public domain was suitable punishment enough.