A former assistant principal at a North East academy has been banned from teaching indefinitely after a disciplinary panel found he made "many sexual jokes and inappropriate comments" towards colleagues, often in the presence of pupils.
Sam Piggott, 33, was found guilty of 14 allegations of unacceptable professional conduct by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) while he worked at North Shore Academy in Stockton. Eleven of the allegations were sexual in nature.
Comments made between June 2024 and March 2025
According to a 34-page decision outcome following a TRA hearing, reported by TeessideLive, Mr Piggott made comments including "one day I will f*** you", "just imagine they are a s*** at the bar", and "it is like juggling two women" between June 2024 and March 2025.
Mr Piggott was suspended by the school in March 2025, and the matter was referred to the TRA weeks later. He has now been prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot apply for the ban to be set aside for two years.
Allegations found proven
Mr Piggott began working at North Shore Academy as a teaching assistant in 2018 and was promoted to assistant principal in early 2024. One proven allegation involved a comment he made when a colleague left him a gift after he covered her lesson. He responded to say he hoped it was a sex act. He later returned and said he was only joking. The woman said she was not personally impacted by the comment, adding that Mr Piggott "had a tendency to make many sexual jokes and inappropriate comments".
Another proven allegation described how Mr Piggott made a comment in front of pupils, saying "I've got a big one". He said the comment had been taken out of context. A different member of staff said she felt disgusted, objectified and embarrassed after he said to her, in earshot of year 8 girls, "sorry miss, I've just nearly put my sausage into you there". The panel heard he was carrying sausages and mash and made the comment after they nearly bumped into one another.
Incidents with pupils and colleagues
The panel heard how, in March 2025, Mr Piggott told pupils he wanted an energy drink. When a student asked why he liked them so much, he responded, with a smirk and a hand gesture, that he would have two at the same time, stating: "It is like juggling two women." He then described how the drink tasted, saying: "I like how it drips down your throat." The witness said pupils were "taken aback by both comments" and reacted by saying "ughh" and "sir you cannot say that".
Months earlier, at the school Christmas party, Mr Piggott stood with a female teacher and said "I'm going to f*** you one day", to which she replied "no you are not Sam". Another witness told the investigatory meeting that Mr Piggott responded with "I am trust me". The witness said: "He just couldn't take no for an answer." Mr Piggott said he did not recall making such a statement and noted it had allegedly taken place on a Christmas night out where people had been drinking alcohol.
In another incident, he told a male colleague, who said he was nervous about being interviewed by an inspector, to "just imagine they are a s*** at the bar". Mr Piggott, who did not attend the hearing, said in his written response that the comment was taken out of context and he did not believe either colleague was offended at the time, although he acknowledged his language was "inappropriate and derogatory".
Panel findings and prohibition order
In another allegation, a witness said that when discussing what pub to go to, Mr Piggott said: "I cannot be trusted around drunk children." Mr Piggott described the allegation as "false and vexatious". The panel found the allegation proven.
The panel described the comments made by Mr Piggott as objectifying, misogynistic and unacceptable. The outcome states that the findings involved "a repeated pattern of wholly inappropriate conduct towards his colleagues, frequently in the presence of pupils". The panel found there was a strong public interest consideration in respect of the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils, given the sexual nature of the comments.
Mr Piggott was "incredibly remorseful", the panel noted, and a number of witnesses were positive about his abilities as a teacher. However, the panel said he seemed to fail to appreciate that his conduct towards female staff was "manifestly inappropriate". Significant factors in making a recommendation to the Secretary of State that a prohibition order was appropriate included the sexual nature of his conduct, "seemingly displaying a deep-seated and wholly inappropriate attitude towards women", and the fact that he made a "number of sexist and misogynistic comments in front of the children to whom he was supposed to be a role model".
On October 15, Mr Piggott was prohibited from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England. The order was made indefinitely, and he cannot apply for it to be set aside until October 19, 2028, at the earliest.
A spokesperson for Northern Education Trust, which operates the school, said: "As soon as the serious allegations against Mr Piggott were raised, the academy immediately followed the trust's established procedures to investigate the matter. The trust takes concerns of this nature very seriously and appropriate support was offered to those impacted. Mr Piggott was dismissed from the trust at the conclusion of the investigation, and the matter was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency. The trust is satisfied that the matter was managed robustly and in accordance with all internal procedures."
