A teacher has been banned from the profession for three years after lying on his application form about his degree.

Dean Collins applied for the role of games teacher at Eversfield Preparatory School in Solihull, stating that he had a 2:2 degree.

He applied for the job in October 2018 and when he took up the role in January 2019, was asked to provide his degree certificate.

A professional conduct panel heard that at this point, he provided two certificates – one stating he had achieved a Third Class Degree and another stating he had achieved a Lower Second Class Degree.

At a disciplinary hearing at the school Mr Collins said that his salary at a previous job had been reduced due to his Third Class Degree. He was dismissed from the Eversfield Preparatory School at that hearing.

The panel noted that the class of degree wouldn’t even have been an influencing factor in his application.

It then came to light that Mr Collins had also stated on his application to his previous role at Cadbury College that he had obtained a Lower Second Class Degree.

What happened?

The panel heard from ‘Witness A’ who said that Mr Collins had provided an envelope to Eversfield in January 2019 including a signed certificate from Northumbria University, dated July 2, 1991 and stating that Mr Collins had obtained a Third Class Degree.

A report published this month on the outcome of the hearing states: “Accompanying this certificate was a second certificate that stated Mr Collins had actually achieved a 2:2. This certificate was similar in appearance to the first, albeit the logo was different and no authorising signatures were present.”

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Mr Collins did not attend the hearing, but accepted in a written submission that he had stated on his application form to Eversfield that he had a 2:2 degree when this was not the case.

The panel was also shown Mr Collins’s application form for Cadbury College, written in September 2012, which stated that he had obtained a 2:2.

Again, in the written submission, Mr Collins accepted that this was false and/or misleading.

What did the panel say?

The report states: “A degree qualification is memorable and not something that could be misremembered or mistakenly recorded. In the panel’s view, Mr Collins would have been clearly aware that he was stating an incorrect qualification in order to obtain some benefit.

”It mattered not that the class of degree was apparently not a factor, influencing or otherwise, for his application.

“Regrettably it is an inherent inference that such grade inflation can only be seen as dishonest and lacking in integrity.”

Regarding the ‘fake’ certificate provided to Everfields, the panel said that Mr Collins’s motivation for this was ‘unclear’.

Mr Collins was given glowing references when he applied to Everfields, the panel heard.

The report quotes examples describing his teaching practice and attitude to young people as “second to none” while another states: “Dean has a positive working attitude and builds good rapport with his students. He is dedicated to offering students the support they require in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.”

The panel said that there was a “public interest consideration” in retaining Mr Collins in the teaching profession and noted that no doubt had been cast upon his abilities as an educator.

However, they weighed this mitigation against the seriousness of what happened.

“In the panel’s view, Mr Collins had, on three different occasions, provided information that was false and misleading, which amounted to dishonest conduct for two of these incidents,” the report states.

Mr Collins has been banned from teaching for a period of three years.