Sick Lancashire primary school headteacher who made indecent photos of a child is struck off for life

Ian McDonald, 47, who is from St Annes, was head at Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School in Skelmersdale from September 2022 until September 2023.

In or around April 2023, Mr McDonald was arrested by the online abuse team with Lancashire Police. He was suspended by the school on April 25, 2023 and later resigned on July 25, 2023.

What is he guilty of?

On 20 June 2024, at Preston Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child and one count of possessing extreme pornographic image/images portraying an act of intercourse/oral sex with a dead/alive animal.

Mr McDonald’s actions took place outside the education setting, but some of the images related to primary school aged children.

Sentence

Mr McDonald was sentenced to a community order for three years, another community order for three years to run concurrently, a requirement to participate in an accredited programme, a rehabilitation activity requirement, was required to register with the police for five years and was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years. Mr McDonald was also subject to an order made to deprive him of his rights to images and his mobile phone.

Teaching Regulation Authority verdict

This week, the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) has announced the outcome of their investigation into his conduct - and banned him from the classroom for life.

A report states: “There was no evidence that Mr McDonald had made an outstanding contribution as an educator. The panel considered that the adverse public interest considerations above outweighed any interest in retaining Mr McDonald in the profession, since his behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher. The panel considered that it was of particular relevance that Mr McDonald was a headteacher of a primary school and some of the offending behaviour related to primary school aged children.”

“Acitively clicked”

It added: “There was no evidence that Mr McDonald’s actions were not deliberate. On the contrary, the evidence was that Mr McDonald had actively clicked on links to images and had retained some of them”, and said that there was no evidence that Mr McDonald was acting under extreme duress.

It went on to say that the panel was “not provided with any evidence that Mr McDonald had demonstrated exceptionally high standards in his personal and professional conduct or to him having contributed significantly to the education sector” and the panel noted that this was not a oneoff incident.

The hearing heared that Mr McDonald has apologised for his actions and shown some insight into the serious impact of his behaviour, but the mitigation did not outweigh the seriousness of the offending behaviour.

Final decision

Decision maker Stuart Blomfield decreed that Mr McDonald is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or 14 children’s home in England. Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, He decided that Mr McDonald shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

Mr McDonald has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days.

Support your Blackpool Gazette and Lancashire Post and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.