04 Apr 2025
The boss of a school trust has refused to comment on the conduct of a headteacher who made sexualised remarks to members of staff at a St Albans school.
Gareth Linwood escaped being barred from the profession for making a series of misogynistic comments and sending sexual emails following the findings of a teacher misconduct panel.
He was accused of unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute while serving as head of Fleetville Junior School in Hatfield Road.
This included telling a female member of staff wearing a snake scarf that “I would love to wrap my snake around your neck” and that he “would love to see an intimate waxing” of her.
He was also accused of touching her hair when it was in a ponytail, saying he liked having something to hold on to, sending a text message referring to underwear, and commenting on a Teams call that he had seen her “looking slim and blonde”.
Mr Linwood was said to have emailed two staff members from his school email an image of nine medals – each showing a couple in a different sexual position – with the question “Which one?”.
It was also alleged that he kept condoms in his office desk and/or left them in a bin outside his office, telling staff he wanted to recruit young, blonde women, and talking about “f#ck buddies” in a staff meeting.
But although Mr Linwood was working at their school when the incidents allegedly occurred, the Spiral Partnership Trust has refused to comment on his conduct during his tenure as headteacher.
A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency – which was attended by nine different witnesses – also heard a variety of other allegations.
It was said he discussed whether the school dog should be kept away during an OFSTED inspection, how inspectors might not like middle-aged women but he could not send them all home, and that he would let one staff member work in a downstairs classroom to “save her old knees” and another that she was “probably going deaf because of her age”.
With the exception of the possession of condoms, which he claimed was for a Personal Social and Health Education lesson, Mr Linwood denied the facts of the other allegations.
As part of the process, Mr Linwood argued for some of the allegations to include the phrase “or words to that affect”, which the panel agreed, and asked for the hearing to be heard in private for reasons which were redacted.
The panel heard how Gareth Linwood began his employment at Fleetville Junior School on September 1, 2018 and in April 2022 an investigation was carried out by the school into his conduct following concerns regarding his behaviour towards female members of staff. He was suspended shortly after. A disciplinary hearing was held on May 27, 2022 and Mr Linwood is no longer employed at the school.
The panel’s findings said: “Mr Linwood has been critical of the investigation conducted by the School’s Trust from April 2022. Mr Linwood stated that it was initiated by Witness Z to *take revenge* following a grievance raised by him in March 2022 in respect of Witness Z.
“Mr Linwood has described the investigation as ‘a witch hunt’, ‘a sham’, ‘unlawful’, ‘incomplete’ and that ‘people were sought out [for] dirt [on Mr Linwood]’ and ‘led’.”
On some of the allegations, the former head said that there had been a lot of noise in the background and colleagues may have misheard him.
Regarding the email of the medals containing sexual positions and him asking “Which one?” the panel said Mr Linwood did not recall ever sending an email with the image of nine medals, but when repeatedly pressed he said it was the sort of thing shared as a joke and in humour.
However, the panel had sight of the investigation notes from Mr Linwood’s interview with the school’s trust dated May 17 2022 in which he admitted he had probably sent the offensive email, but also suggested it might have been fabricated.
He questioned why if the images were deemed “pornographic” by the witness the school did not contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or the police.
Another witness recalled feeling embarrassed on a training day after Mr Linwood told her she was going deaf in her old age.
Although the ponytail touching and the knees comment were not proved during the hearing, the panel concluded that the cumulative effect of the allegations that it had proven was “extremely inappropriate and unprofessional but was not sufficient to fall significantly short of the standard of behaviour expected of a teacher”.
“For these reasons, the panel was not satisfied that the conduct of Mr Linwood amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.
“Accordingly, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Linwood was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.”
However, it also concluded that “Mr Linwood was an experienced headteacher at the time of his conduct, so he should have known better and should have been leading by example.
The panel decided that “there was a public interest consideration in retaining the teacher in the profession, since no doubt had been cast upon his abilities as an educator and he is able to make a valuable contribution to the profession.”
They also concluded that “Mr Linwood did show a good level of insight and remorse into his conduct.
He stated that he wanted to “issue a heartfelt apology for his words and actions” to those affected. Mr Linwood recognised that his conduct was clearly unacceptable. Mr Linwood stated that he “absolutely” accepts responsibility for the conduct as found proven by the panel. No prohibition order was made.
Marcus Cooper, chief executive officer of the Spiral Partnership Trust, told the St Albans Times they could not comment on an independent legal process.
“We respect the independent process of the TRA and respect the decision of the panel… As a previous and not the current employer, we feel it inappropriate to comment on the conduct of Mr Linwood.”
But in a separate email sent to parents at the school, he reassured them that children were never at risk from Mr Linwood’s behaviour.
“We understand that this news may be concerning, and we want to reassure you of our unwavering commitment to maintaining a safe, professional, and respectful school environment for all pupils, staff, and families…
“We want to emphasise that inappropriate behaviour of any kind is not tolerated within our Trust and school community. The TRA has recognised that the safety of pupils has been in no way compromised and safeguarding our staff and pupils remains our highest priority. We uphold the highest standards of professionalism, and we remain dedicated to nurturing an environment where all staff and students feel valued, respected, and safe.”
He also instructed parents not to discuss the matter with their children or approach staff members for further information on the case.
Gareth Linwood is currently working at a school in Cambridge.
